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T U L A N E U N I V E R S I T Y L AW S C H O O L
TULANE
L AW Y E R
A LU M N I MAK I N G T H E I R MAR K
DEAN AND MITCHELL FRANKLIN
P R O F E S S O R O F L AW
T U L A N E L AW S C H O O L
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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AND SENIOR WRITER
E X E C U T I V E A S S I S TA N T T O T H E D E A N
L AU R E N V E R G O N A G AV I O L I
A RT D I R E C TO R A N D D E S I G N E R
TA N A C O M A N
C O N S U LT I N G E D I T O R
M A N A G E R , L AW S C H O O L
A L U M N I R E L AT I O N S
M A D E L I N E VA N N ( M P H ’9 8 )
ELLEN BRIERRE
F E AT U R E D W R I T E R
SENIOR DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT
M A RY M O U T O N ( L ’9 0 )
S H A N N O N WO O DWA R D
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
DEVELOPMENT OFFICER
Lynn Becnel
Warren Burns (L ’04)
Nicholas D. Foster
Tulane University Offices of Communications and Publications
Professor Edward Sherman
Lizbeth Turner (L ’85)
N ATA L I E H O O K S
P H O T O G R A P H Y & I L L U S T R AT I O N
M AR K ANDRESEN , front cover, page 28; SALLY ASHER/TULANE
P U B LIC R ELATIONS , pages 1 right, 8 top, 43 top; ASSOCIATED PRESS,
page 37 top right; CLAIRE BARRY , page 6; PAULA BURCH-CELENTANO/
T ULANE PUBLICATIONS , pages 10 top, 11, 21–23, 54–55; ANDA CHU,
page 34; KYLE ENCAR , page 51 top; LAUREN VERGONA GAVIOLI ,
pages 3–4, 7, 8 bottom, 9 bottom, 50, 51 bottom/luncheons, 52 bottom, 53
top, back cover; CHRIS GRANGER/THE TI MES-PICAYUNE, page 36
top; R IC K OLIVIER , inside front cover, pages 2 top, 3, 18 top & bottom
left; JAC KSON HILL , pages 26–27; RYAN RI VET , page 9 top; LOUIS
S A HUC , page 36 bottom; TULANE PUBLI C RELATIONS , page 53;
T ULANE UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES , pages 31–32; WORLD
W RESTLING ENTERTAINMENT, INC., page 45 bottom.
J O I N T H E C O N V E R S AT I O N
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E M I LY R O B E RT S
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CONTENTS
12
2
FROM THE DEAN
3
BRIEFS
12
FA C U LT Y N O T E B O O K
P RO F E S S O R E D S H E R M A N R E P O RT S O N F E D E R A L
P R E E M P T I O N: W H AT I S I T A N D W H Y I S I T I M P O R TA N T ?
16
FA C U LT Y N E W S
A P P O I N T M E N T S A N D E N D OW E D P RO F E S S O R S H I P S
28
18
P U B L I C AT I O N S, P R E S E N TAT I O N S & H O N O R S
26
RECESS FOR REFLECTION
MAKING THEIR MARK
After law school, Tulane alums make waves by pushing the boundaries of justice.
38
A L M A M AT T E R S
CLASS NOTES
49
50
52
IN MEMORIAM
28
REUNIONS AND LUNCHEONS
COMMENCEMENT
52
54
54
D E V E L O P M E N T:
O N T H E ROA D AG A I N
56 H O N O R R O L L O F D O N O R S
64
F A L L 2 0 1 1 T U L A N E L A W Y E R V O L. 2 8 – N O. 2
TA X T O P I C S F O R T H E P H I L A N T H R O P I C
FROM THE DEAN
DAVID D. MEYER
Dean and Mitchell Franklin
Professor of Law
GLOBAL AND
GROUNDED
wo events, just days apart this
fall, capture for me what makes
Tulane Law School so truly
extraordinary. The first was a ceremony
in the elegant courtroom of the
Louisiana Supreme Court on Royal
Street in the French Quarter. There,
students enrolled in the law school’s
T
“ F E W L AW S C H O O L S
R I VA L T U L A N E ’ S D E P T H
A N D S O P H I S T I C AT I O N .”
T UL AN E L AW Y E R FAL L 2 01 1
— D E A N D AV I D M E Y E R
2
five in-house litigation clinics gathered
excitedly to take an oath of professionalism before shouldering the heavy responsibilities of representing real clients in
high-stakes controversies.
The second came days later, 1,600
miles to the south, in Panama City,
Panama. There, Professors Martin Davies
and Robert Force led a day-long seminar
for Panamanian lawyers on the latest
developments in maritime law. Afterward,
we hosted a reception for our 125 Tulane
law alumni in Panama, an enormously
impressive group that includes Cabinet
ministers, Supreme Court justices, and
a significant share of the country’s
leading lawyers.
In almost any week, one can find a
similar juxtaposition of events reflecting
Tulane Law School’s distinctive identity as
a law school that is at once both global
and grounded. For more than a century,
Tulane has helped to lead American legal
education in its engagement with the
rest of the world. Comparative legal
study, built on the natural foundation of
Louisiana’s distinctive civil-law heritage,
has always been part of Tulane’s lifeblood
and continues to enrich and distinguish
our faculty and students. In the past halfyear alone, Tulane co-hosted the Third
World Congress of Mixed Jurisdictions in
Jerusalem, an international roundtable on
cultural preservation law in Siena, Italy,
and a pioneering maritime law collaboration with the Universities of Oslo and
Southampton, among other ambitious ventures and exchanges. In preparing lawyers
for today’s increasingly transnational practice environment, few law schools rival
Tulane’s depth and sophistication.
Yet, Tulane is a law school deeply
grounded in its own community—indelibly and passionately connected to New
Orleans, to the practice of law, and to the
ideal of making a difference in the lives
of its neighbors.
During the past year, we have significantly broadened opportunities for
service and skills training by reinventing
our externship program. Tulane students
are now able to work anywhere in the
world in governmental or public-interest
settings for academic credit. This past
summer, 184 Tulane law students fanned
out to field placements across the globe,
from Treme to Tanzania, where they
gained practical legal experience while
helping meet urgent needs for legal
service. Whether protecting aboriginal
land rights in the Australian Outback or
refining vital coastal management regulations for the Louisiana Department of
Environmental Quality, Tulane students
made their mark even while developing
their skills as lawyers.
Of course, it doesn’t end with graduation. In this issue of the Tulane Lawyer,
we profile the impressive accomplishments of our alumni—from the remarkable Tulane law class of 1961, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and
others—who have given back and made
a lasting difference in their own communities. The men and women featured in
these pages are obviously only a sample
of our public-spirited and deeply talented
alumni. Read their stories and then share
your own. As we develop one of the
nation’s finest and most well-rounded
law schools—both global and grounded—we need your support and engagement now more than ever!
Third-year law student
Madison Hardee
enjoys a weekend off
exploring the outdoors
of Tanzania, where
she took part in the
Tulane Law School
Summer 2011 Public
Service Externship
program working with
the Women’s Legal Aid
Centre (WLAC) in
Dar es Salaam.
To honor the late Michael Starks (L ’68), friends and
family gathered at Weinmann Hall on February 4, 2011.
Pictured, l to r, are Dean David Meyer; Michael’s
relatives Sandra Starks McCollum (sister), Dominique
Bright-Wheeler, Esq., and Glen Woods, Esq. (first
cousins), Duane McCollum (nephew), Michelle Starks
(daughter), Jade Foy (granddaughter), and Carol Starks
(former wife); and Tulane BLSA President Ashley Banks.
HONORING A PIONEER
T
“We stand on the shoulders of giants. The giants who came before us challenged a social
institution of racism, segregation, prejudice, and inequality and gave us the opportunity to
do the same for others. They were giants in terms of their strength of character, desire for
academic excellence, commitment to community and to the legal profession. And they were
giants in that their presence, contribution, and legacy is greater than they ever imagined.
Michael Starks was one of those giants.
When he enrolled at Tulane University Law School, he not only embarked upon his own
professional career, but he forever changed this institution.”
—2012 JD Candidate Ashley Banks
and even more, a life of service.”
Tulane Law School Dean David
Meyer echoed those remarks. “Michael
Starks opened a door at Tulane Law
School,” he said, “and, in doing so, he
has immeasurably enriched and helped
to transform this great law school.”
That door, through which many have
walked since and many more will travel,
forever remains open.
L I V I N G T H E L E G AC Y
The Hon. Cedric L. Richmond (L ’98) of Louisiana honored the life
and legacy of Starks in an Extension of Remarks in the U.S. House of
Representatives on February 11, 2011. “Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call
attention to Mr. Michael Starks, a man whose dedication to the legal institution knew no bounds,” said Richmond. “I am saddened by his passing, in
prayer for his family, and inspired by his life’s achievements.”
Judge Richmond isn’t alone. Starks, who often returned to his alma mater
to mentor students, touched the lives of many Tulane law alums, including the
Hon. Nannette Jolivette-Brown (L ’88, LLM ’98), U.S. District Court Judge
for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Jolivette-Brown recalls Starks as an inspiring figure who gave her
confidence in her own promise as a lawyer, and she considers herself twice
the beneficiary of his pioneering actions: not only did she follow in his
footsteps at Tulane Law School, but also in the New Orleans City Attorney’s
office, where she served as the city attorney. The U.S. Senate unanimously
confirmed Jolivette-Brown as a U.S. District Court Judge in New Orleans in
October 2011. The former mentee is the first African-American female to
serve as a federal judge in the state of Louisiana.
FA LL 2 0 1 1 T UL A NE L AW Y E R
ulane law graduated its first
African-American in 1968.
Michael Starks (August 22,
1943–January 8, 2011) went on to
become the first African-American
lawyer in the Attorney General’s office.
The Tulane law community recently
gathered to honor his memory.
Tulane is the 12th oldest law school
in the United States and has seen significant change in the 165 years since its
1847 founding. The school awarded a
degree to Bettie Runnels, the first woman
to graduate, in 1898, but it would be
70 years before an African-American
crossed the stage. Since 1968, more than
2,300 students of color have followed in
the footsteps of Starks. Starks also left
a thriving legacy in the New Orleans
and Tulane legal communities. Starks’s
legacy, like many other pioneers who
broke down barriers, shaped and now
helps define Tulane Law School.
For many, it is impossible to imagine
Tulane law without the breadth of experience, perspective, and culture that distinguish it today. In trying to think of what it
was like to walk the halls as Starks once
did, third-year law student Ashley Banks
can only think of what it is like now.
“Many of us who are students now
never met Mr. Starks. But what we enjoy
as of right now, Mr. Starks earned as a
privilege, and we continue to honor it
as such,” praised Banks, president of
the Black Law Students Association
(BLSA). “Because of Mr. Starks, Tulane
is able to boast a commitment to diversity of persons, ideas, backgrounds, and
beliefs. Because of Mr. Starks, we can
pursue a more complete legal education,
3
BRIEFS
T U L A N E L AW R E V I E W G O E S K I N D L E
ulane Law Review (Volume 85,
Issue 3) moved to the forefront of
the digital frontier in April 2011
when it became available for download via
Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes & Noble’s
Nook. The entire current volume, as well
as the Tulane Maritime Law Journal (Vol.
35), is now available in digital format. This
development makes Tulane Law School
one of only three schools with journals
available through Kindle. Tulane initiated
the trend; Harvard and Stanford followed.
T U L A NE L AWY E R FA LL 2 0 1 1
T
4
Furthermore, Tulane is the only school
where law review staff convert the journals
into an e-Reader publication entirely
in house.
In a tight economy, providing journals
in electronic form saves readers space and
money, qualities that appeal to busy professionals, researchers, students, and faculty. Download costs are $5 to $6 depending
on the medium used.
“As it turns out, the leading reason for
cancellation of subscriptions is that people
don’t have room to store the issues,” says
Joel Friedman, Jack M. Gordon Professor
of Procedural Law & Jurisdiction. “I
believe that making our scholarship available on Kindle will generate new review
because it will enable us to reach readers/
Issues 5 and 6 are devoted to the
subscribers who don’t have room and who
23rd Admiralty Law Institute, “Maritime
prefer to read in an electronic format.”
Catastrophes: Marine Investigation and
Kindle text is also available on iPhone and
Mass Claims Practice,” held at Tulane Law
PC as well as the portable reading device.
School last March. The special biennial
The digital format and affiliation
double issue leads with an article written
with Amazon also opens the pages of the
by Pat Bonner, president of the Maritime
journal to Google’s search engine, makLaw Association, regarding the viability
ing it possible for laymen, journalists,
of current limitation of liability regimes
and researchers to find content related
to their “googled”
questions. The availability of Tulane Law
I N A T I G H T E C O N O M Y, P R O V I D I N G
Review to a wider
JOURNALS IN ELECTRONIC FORM
market not only leads
S AV E S R E A D E R S S PA C E A N D M O N E Y.
to the spread of ideas,
but also increases the
reputation and relevance of Tulane Law Review, as well as
post-Deepwater Horizon. Other topics
Tulane Law School.
in the issue include maritime arbitration,
This marketability also draws the attenSomali piracy, marine insurance, and
tion of top-tier authors. An author’s first
maritime casualty investigations.
and main concern is that their articles are
Future issues of Tulane law journals
read by as many people as possible and in
also will be available through Kindle and
as timely a manner as possible. Having a
Nook in coming months. Look for the
large, readily updated presence in the marfollowing journals soon: Tulane European
ket will attract more authors to submit
and Civil Law Forum, Tulane Environtheir work. With more articles to choose
mental Law Journal, Tulane Journal of
from, the Law Review will become more
International and Comparative Law, Law
selective and informative. Having Tulane
& Sexuality, The Sports Lawyers Journal,
student-written papers associated with the
and Tulane Journal of Technology and
top legal minds of the world will add a
Intellectual Property.
tremendous benefit to the prestige and
The link to the Kindle Store on Amazon
value of the law school.
is http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr
In related journal news, Tulane Law
_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&search-alias
=digital-text&field-author=Tulane%20
Review recently published three admiralty
Law%20Review. The link to Nook on
law-specific issues, which are all available
Barnes and Noble is www.barnesandnoble
on Kindle. Issue 4, an admiralty sympo.com/nook/index.asp. Type the journal
sium issue entitled, “Deep Trouble: Legal
name in the search bar.
Ramifications of the Deepwater Horizon
Oil Spill,” features articles by top authors
Because Kindle and Nook are fully searchin the maritime field. The issue leads
able, page numbers are unnecessary in the
with an article written by Tulane Law
citation, so the recommended citation to
Professors Robert Force, Martin Davies,
Tulane law journal material on Kindle and
and Joshua Force and provides a compreNook is as follows:
hensive overview of claims that may arise
<vol> Tul. L. Rev. (Kindle version 2011)
<vol> Tul. L. Rev. (Nook version 2011)
in the ongoing oil spill litigation.
A S S O C I AT I N G A L U M S O F T H E L AW R E V I E W
ounded in 1916 by Dean Rufus Harris, the Tulane Law Review has
been a fixture at the law school and Tulane University for nearly
a century. Its alumni include Judge John Minor Wisdom and the
late Louisiana Congressman Hale Boggs, among many other prominent
lawyers, judges, and political leaders. The Law Review enjoys considerable respect, here and abroad, especially for its coverage of admiralty
and of comparative law.
Notwithstanding its pedigree and prestige, until a few years ago the
law review did not have an organized alumni association. Warren Burns,
a 2004 Tulane law graduate and former editor in chief of the review, is
one of several alumni who decided to remedy that situation by founding
the Tulane Law Review Alumni Association (TLRAA) in 2008.
“In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, I think we all recognized that
a formal alumni association could help accomplish a number of goals
that we felt were critical to the continued success of the law review,” said
Burns, who currently serves as president of the organization. “First and
foremost, we were all committed to helping provide financial support for
the review. We also wanted to create an organization that would bring
alumni and current students together.”
Along with Burns, Josh Fershee (L ’03), Kendra Fershee (L ’03),
F
Meredith Grabill (L ’06), and A. Gregory Grimsal (L ’79) officially
formed the organization. The TLRAA has been actively recruiting members. According to TLRAA Treasurer Greg Grimsal, the alumni association currently has 48 members in 11 states.
“Each year, we have taken significant strides toward accomplishing the
goals we set at the alumni association’s founding,” says Meredith Grabill,
TLRAA secretary. “We have organized and funded social activities for
current students and provided breakfast and snack items throughout the
year. For alumni, we have organized annual cocktail hours at the Law
Review Banquet, and we have sent out quarterly newsletters.”
Burns continues, “We’re very proud that a significant number of
alumni have joined us early on in building the alumni association. We
have an ambitious agenda for the coming years. We want to look at
providing an endowment for the law review. We also want to play a more
active role in current law review members’ experiences by assisting in
job and clerkship placement.”
Getting involved with the TLRAA is easy. Simply email TLRAA President
Warren Burns at wburns@susmangodfrey.com. After receiving your email,
the TLRAA will forward you a membership packet. Dues are $50 per year.
DEAL-MAKING RETURNS
N
networking opportunities of this caliber.
Through the Career Development Office,
Tulane law students may attend informational interview sessions where they can
meet with conference speakers to ask
career-related questions.
“We have done this for many years,”
Cerna-Fagan says, “and if past sessions are
any indication, our students were able to
mingle with corporate celebrities featured
on the Charlie Rose Show, CNN and
Squawk Box.”
CNBC’s nationally televised “Squawk
Box” financial news program broadcast
live from the 2011 event, giving viewers
an up close and personal look at this year’s
M&A conversation. Other correspondents
and columnists hailed from a wide range
of media, including The New York Times,
The Wall Street Journal, DealBook,
Bloomberg, and Reuters.
Tulane Law School Dean David Meyer
echoed Cerna-Fagan’s conviction through
remarks he delivered on the opening
morning. “The Tulane Corporate Law
Institute exemplifies the best of what
makes Tulane such an extraordinary law
school,” Dean Meyer stated. “It reflects
our close partnership and connectedness
with the leading lights in law practice and
business—and our recognition that a firstrate professional education requires continuing engagement with the frontiers of
professional practice.”
Plans for next year already are underway. The corporate law conference is
scheduled for March 8 and 9, 2012,
again at the Roosevelt hotel in downtown
New Orleans.
FA LL 20 1 1 T U L A N E L AW YE R
early 400 of the country’s top
corporate lawyers, dealmakers,
scholars, and media analysts
gathered at The Roosevelt New Orleans
hotel this spring to kick off the 23rd annual Tulane Corporate Law Institute (CLI).
The nationally renowned mergers and
acquisitions (M&A) conference, which
focuses on relevant topics and updates to
corporate and securities law, remains the
most important gathering of its kind.
Whether the conference comes amidst turmoil on Wall Street or a surging market in
a mending economy, the agenda is always
active and the conversations are as candid
and uncensored as they are strategic.
“It’s like attending an ‘Oscars for Lawyers’ ceremony, even if the attire lacks the
traditional glamour,” says Sarka CernaFagan, assistant dean of career development at Tulane Law School. Cerna-Fagan
knows firsthand how fortunate Tulane
Law School students are to experience
5
BRIEFS
N O T F O R O N E ’S S E L F,
B U T F O R O N E ’S O W N
on sibi, sed suis, Tulane’s motto
reads, instructing citizens to act
“not for one’s self, but for one’s
own.” As the first law school in the nation
to require public service as a component
of a law degree, Tulane University Law
School has fulfilled that motto. The school
has documented nearly 230,000 total hours
of student service since the program officially began more than two decades ago.
As Assistant Dean for Public Interest
Programs, Julie Jackson has witnessed the
demonstrations of selflessness since 1988
when she implemented the Tulane Law
School pro bono program. According to
Jackson, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina,
students have increasingly taken the initiative, with many surpassing the minimum
30 hours “of legal service on behalf of
indigent clients” now required to graduate.
N
Students contributing 60 or
more hours of pro
bono assistance during the academic year
are recognized each spring at an annual
luncheon held in their honor.
This year’s event, which took place
April 6 at Weinmann Hall, highlighted
2012 JD candidates Ashley Banks, contributing 448 hours to date, and Scott
Helsinger, who served nearly 400. Recent
graduates Rosanna Eugenio, Tyler
Maulsby, and Christin Morneau led the
third-year law class volunteering 699, 893,
and 618 hours respectively. At an average
of 238 per person, this year’s 102 invited
honorees collectively accrued 24,323
hours of public service to date.
“To donate that much time and to do so
much good for so many, while continuing
as a full-time law student, is an amazing
accomplishment,” said Jackson.
Between May 2010 and May 2011,
Tulane Law School students as a whole
logged more than 23,000 pro bono hours,
benefitting nearly 130 different organizations and placements across the United
States and as far away as Thailand, Italy,
and South Africa.
“We often feel swallowed by the reading and preparation necessary for our
classes,” said Helsinger. “It is nice to get
out of the law school and do something
where we are making an impact, where we
can meet lawyers, and where we can learn
more about our areas of interest.”
The Pro Bono Project of Southeastern
Louisiana recognized and applauded the
law school in December by naming Tulane
the “2010 Law School of the Year.” The
award recognizes the law school’s longstanding and flourishing dedication to
pro bono work.
L AW G R A D R E WA R D E D F O R
WORK WITH IMMIGRANTS
or Rosanna Eugenio, public
service was much more than just
a requirement for her Tulane Law
School degree. She saw pro bono work
Rosanna Eugenio (L ’11) earns a pro bono
as an opportunity, and after volunteering
award from the Louisiana State Bar
nearly 700 hours in her Tulane career,
Association in a ceremony at the Louisiana
she earned both her law diploma and
Supreme Court building in New Orleans.
a coveted state-wide award.
At a May 24 ceremony in the Louisiana Supreme Court building in New Orleans, Eugenio received a Law Student Pro Bono
Award from the Louisiana State Bar Association in recognition of
her work with immigrant populations in New Orleans. The award
cites her “for providing significant support for legal services to
Louisiana’s indigent.”
Only four such awards are given annually by the bar association
to outstanding law students from Tulane and Southern, Loyola
and Louisiana State universities.
T U L A N E L AWY E R FA LL 2 01 1
F
6
Julie Jackson, who nominated Eugenio for the honor, recommended the immigration work, a decision that Eugenio calls “a
pivotal moment in my life and career.” During her three years of
law school, Eugenio volunteered at the Loyola Immigration Clinic,
working on cases involving refugees and asylum seekers, domestic
violence, human trafficking, and other crimes. She also participated in “Know Your Rights” presentations to immigrants.
Eugenio, a native of Queens, N.Y., whose parents immigrated
from the Dominican Republic, has encouraged students to see the
law school’s pro bono requirement “as an opportunity—you can do
something you love to do or do something new and different.” She
hopes to stay in the city and continue promoting community and
public interest work.
A prerequisite of graduation, pro bono work has no impact on academic
credits; individual transcripts reflect the total number of certified pro
bono hours performed by the individual student. All pro bono work is
performed under attorney supervision.
M C G LOI NN FCEH
EY LECTURE
D E R A L L I T I G AT I O N
Pictured, l to r, Dean David
Meyer, Fionuala McGlinchey
Monsted (N ’90), 2011
McGlinchey lecturer
Professor Sanford Levinson,
and Tulane Law School
Professor Stephen Griffin.
THE TENSION BETWEEN INDEPENDENCE AND
A C C O U N TA B I L I T Y I N S TAT E A N D F E D E R A L C O U R T S
P
Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2001.
He recently was given the “Lifetime
Achievement Award” by the Law and
Courts section of the American Political
Science Association, an unusual recognition for a law professor.
THE MCGLINCHEY LECTURE was
established in 1996 by the law firm of
McGlinchey Stafford, to honor its founder,
APPEALING ARGUMENTS
United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Judges (l to r) Fortunato Benavides, W.
Eugene Davis (L ’60), and Jacques L. Wiener Jr. (L ’61) convened in Weinmann Hall to
hear four current cases argued before members of the Tulane legal community. The following cases were presented February 1: United States of America vs. Skilar Wittney Butler;
Derek Carder, et al. vs. Continental Airlines, Inc.; Holly Sarre vs. New Orleans City; and
Catalyst Old River Hydroelectric Limited Partnership vs. Ingram Barge Co., et al.
FA LL 2 0 1 1 T UL A NE L AW Y E R
rofessor Sanford Levinson, who
holds the W. St. John Garwood
and W. St. John Garwood Jr.
Centennial Chair in Law, joined the
University of Texas Law School in 1980.
Previously a member of the Department
of Politics at Princeton University, he is
also a professor in the Department of
Government at the University of Texas.
The author of more than 250 articles and
book reviews in professional and popular
journals, Levinson is also the author of
four books: Constitutional Faith (1988,
winner of the Scribes Award); Written in
Stone: Public Monuments in Changing
Societies (1998); Wrestling With
Diversity (2003); and, most recently,
Our Undemocratic Constitution: Where
the Constitution Goes Wrong (and How
We the People Can Correct It) (2006).
In addition to teaching a course on
“Torture, Law, and Lawyers” at the
Harvard Law School, Levinson has visited at the Boston University, Georgetown,
Harvard, New York University, and Yale
law schools, as well as the law faculties
at the University of Paris II, Central
European University in Budapest, and
the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. A
member of the American Law Institute,
Levinson was elected to the American
the late Dermot S. McGlinchey, a distinguished Tulane Law School graduate
(L ’57). McGlinchey was a dedicated
supporter of the law school, and his many
charitable contributions included service
as chair of the school’s building fund.
He devoted much of his life to promoting
equal access to the courts, and he revitalized the Louisiana Bar Foundation.
Because he was an expert in insurance
law and civil litigation, the McGlinchey
Lecture is broadly dedicated to the fields
of litigation practice, judicial adjudication, and justice under law.
7
BRIEFS
Below: BOEMRE Director Michael Bromwich earmarks
questions in an effort to respond to some 20 students from
the schools of law, business, and science and engineering.
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar addresses a standing room only audience in Weinmann Hall.
P R E S S U R E O N R E V O LV I N G D O O R O P E N S
NEW ONES FOR COLLEGE GRADS
Top federal energy officials in the Obama administration visited the
Tulane University uptown campus in April as part of a campaign to
recruit students from the nation’s top colleges and universities to join
the U.S. offshore oil and gas regulatory program.
While on campus, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement
(BOEMRE) Director Michael R. Bromwich spoke at Tulane Law
School regarding careers in public service, including environmental
science positions available at BOEMRE. Work in fields ranging from
environmental studies to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
review to environmental compliance, they stressed, are critical to the
balanced development of offshore oil and gas resources. In the morning, Secretary Salazar and Director Bromwich visited a Noble Energy
facility in the Gulf of Mexico, approximately 70 miles southeast of
Venice, La., where they plan to drill a well in 6,500 feet of water.
R I S K S, R E S P O N S I B I L I T Y,
A N D R E G U L AT I O N S
T U L A NE L AWY E R FA LL 20 1 1
D
8
an Schuessler, a high-ranking
venture executive for ExxonMobil in Houston, Texas, and
former site manager of ExxonMobil’s
chemical plant in Baton Rouge, visited
Tulane Law School last fall to speak
about corporate environmental responsibility in the context of climate change.
Tulane Law School Dean David Meyer
welcomed Schuessler’s visit to campus.
“Understanding the risks presented by
major industrial activities and navigating
the regulatory environment are enormously complex challenges for modern
corporate leaders,” the dean stated.
“Especially in the context of the times—
given the questions raised about BP’s
decision making in the events preceding
the Deepwater Horizon disaster—this
promises to be an important and very
interesting conversation.”
Schuessler addressed the role that
lawyers play in helping corporate managers assess environmental risks from
their operations and ensure compliance
with environmental regulations. Following the presentation, the ExxonMobil
executive met with a small group of law
school faculty and students over lunch.
Schuessler joined Exxon Chemical in
1986 as an engineer and advanced with
the company through various engineer-
“We’re all humans,” says Dan Schuessler, former
site manager of Exxon’s Baton Rouge chemical
plant. “We all want clean air; we’re all part of
this community. … We’re all on the same team.”
ing and manufacturing assignments. He
graduated from Washington University
with a BS degree in electrical engineering and holds an MBA from Louisiana
State University.
E N E R G Y A S A N E Q U AT I O N
or more than 40 years, Brent
Blackwelder has been on the front
lines of the environmental battle.
On April 1, he was in Weinmann Hall,
delivering the keynote speech at the 16th
annual Environmental Law Summit at
Tulane Law School. The title of this year’s
summit was “The Energy Equation.”
Blackwelder, a former president of
Friends of the Earth and the senior environmental lobbyist in Washington, DC,
urged the summit’s audience to look
at environmental policy as a national
security issue.
“For most of the last century, national
security was thought of only in a military
context,” Blackwelder said. “But now,
I think the greatest threats to our nation
and to civilizations all over stem not
from military threats, but rather from
F
THE RIGHT TO
K N OW: F R E E D O M
O F E N V I R O N M E N TA L
I N F O R M AT I O N I N
C O M PA R AT I V E A N D
I N T E R N AT I O N A L L AW
P
Blackwelder concluded by saying the
argument that renewable energy sources
are technologically problematic no
longer holds water. He instead pointed
the finger at the global political sway
of large energy providers.
“Technical feasibility is not the problem,” said Blackwelder. “The problem
is the political obstacles from the power
and influence that certain entities are
bringing to bear. What’s technically
feasible is not being done.”
DEUTSCH LECTURE
O N C I V I L L I B E RT I E S A N D H U M A N R I G H T S
Addis Ababa. Thereafter, he served in top
legal positions at various international
organizations, including the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations, Rome (1970–78), and the
United Nations Economic Commission
for Europe, Geneva (1986–91), before
joining the World Bank in 1992. Since
retiring from the bank in 1994, he has
taught regularly at the University of
Munich, Faculty of Law, and as visiting
professor at law schools in Europe and
the U.S. He has served inter alia as
Commissioner on the Panel on Environmental Claims, U.N. Compensation
Commission, and as Principal Programme
Officer, U.N. Conference on Environment
and Development.
Sand is the author or editor of numerous books and articles in the field of
international environmental law as well
as general international law. He is also
Pictured March 21,
following the 2011
Deutsch Lecture, are
Günther Handl (left),
Eberhard Deutsch
Professor of Public
International Law,
and Peter Sand, 2011
Deutsch Lecturer.
the recipient of the 2004 Elizabeth Haub
Prize for “exceptional achievements in the
field of international environmental law.”
THE DEUTSCH LECTURE is given
annually as a tribute to Eberhard
Deutsch. The Eberhard P. Deutsch Chair
of Public International Law was established in 1980 through the generosity
of the late Colonel Eberhard P. Deutsch
and his family. Col. Deutsch was a
distinguished Tulane Law School alumnus (L ’25) with a national reputation
in international and military law. The
current holder of the Chair is Professor
Günther Handl.
FA LL 20 1 1 T U L A N E L AW YE R
eter Sand is a former Legal
Adviser for Environmental Affairs
at the World Bank, Washington,
DC; Chief of the Environmental Law
Unit & Deputy Director of Environmental
Management at the United Nations
Environment Programme, Nairobi; and
Secretary General of CITES (Convention
on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora),
Morges & Gland, Switzerland.
Sand studied law at universities in
Germany, France, and Canada and holds
degrees from the University of Saarbrücken
and from McGill (LLM). He began his
professional career in academia, teaching
at McGill’s Faculty of Law (1963–70),
with a three-year stint in between as Ford
Foundation lecturer at the University of
a range of environmental factors.”
Blackwelder pointed to what he called
“oil wars” being waged in Iraq, Nigeria,
Ecuador, and Peru as examples of military actions being taken in the name of
securing large oil stores. However, he
said, the destabilizing effect of fossil
fuels goes beyond the conflicts they
engender. According to Blackwelder,
environmental issues such as weather
disasters and the rising sea level will
pose a far greater threat to nations.
“If you are governing and you are
spending more and more of your regular
budget on rescue missions [due to
climate disasters] … governmental
performance is going to be stretched to
the burdening point,” Blackwelder said.
“This is not the recipe for stability; this
is a recipe for serious problems.”
Brent Blackwelder,
president emeritus
of Friends of the
Earth, delivers the
keynote speech at
the 16th annual
Environmental Law
Summit presented
by Tulane Law
School.
9
BRIEFS
Ky Luu and his team
with the Disaster
Resilience Leadership
Academy at Tulane
launched their new
master of science
program this fall.
NEW DEGREE MAKES
MASTERS OF DISASTERS
ive times more people are affected by
disasters today than a generation ago,
according to the United Nations. Tulane
is rising to the challenge with a degree program that focuses on understanding the unique
requirements of leaders and communities
after disaster strikes.
“I’m happy to say we have this new degree
program in disaster resilience leadership studies,” says Ky Luu, executive director of the
Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy
(DRLA). The program hopes to draw students
from Bangladesh, Somalia, and Pakistan,
as well as current Tulane students who are
interested in the field.
After offering certificate programs for
more than a year, the DRLA won approval
from the Tulane Graduate Council to offer
F
the new Master of Science degree.
“It has generated excitement across the
board,” says Luu. He and his team welcomed
the first class of 20 to 30 students this fall.
The 36-credit program is offered through the
Payson Center for International Development
of Tulane Law School.
Luu came to Tulane in August 2009 from
the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance
to build DRLA and develop leaders skilled in
disaster response, promote research, and stimulate global innovation in the disaster resilience
and humanitarian assistance community.
“Students need to understand that disasters
have no boundaries,” he says. “What’s unique
about this program, it’s appealing to both international and domestic students.”
Last fall, Luu taught one of the core courses
G O I N G T H E D I S TA N C E
P AY S O N C E N T E R T A K E S M O O T
C O U RT O N E S T E P F U RT H E R
panish and Portuguese held sway for the first time alongside English in the first Inter-American Sustainable
Development Law Moot Court Competition, held March
17–20, 2011, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Moot Court Board at
Tulane Law School, along with the law school’s Payson Center
for International Development, collaborated with the law faculties
of Fundação Getúlio Vargas/Direito Rio in Brazil (FGV DireitoRio), Universidad de los Andes in Colombia, and Universidad
Rafael Landívar in Guatemala to organize the event.
Not only was this moot court competition the first to be held in
Latin America, teams were able to participate in any one of three
major languages spoken in the Americas and the Caribbean. NonEnglish speakers were able to submit their briefs and make oral
arguments in their native tongue.
The American Consulate in Rio de
Janeiro provided simultaneous
translation services, allowing all
18 participating teams—from the
United States, Puerto Rico,
T U L A N E L AW YE R FA LL 2 0 1 1
S
10
that DRLA already is offering that can be rolled
into the master’s program. Students in his class,
Disaster Operations Leadership Management
and Policy, divided into teams to help four nonprofit organizations analyze their business risks
and vulnerability.
During the spring 2011 semester, two courses were offered: Psychosocial Leader Analytics,
taught by Charles Figley, social work professor
and co-director of DRLA, and Environmental
and Hazards Science, with Douglas Meffert,
deputy director of the Tulane/Xavier Center for
Bioenvironmental Research.
Students “see the value added in these
courses and the focus on leadership,” Luu says.
He hopes to build on that “added value” with
a future Doctor of Philosophy program.
Guatemala, Colombia, and Brazil—to understand and respond to
issues raised by their competitors from other countries.
Tulane law professor Colin Crawford judged multiple rounds
(including the championship), and third-year law students Ian
Furman (L ’11) and Tom Sharp (L ’11) served as U.S. co-chairs
and were heavily involved in laying the competition groundwork.
Crawford, who also serves as executive director of the Payson
Center, noted that the level of advocacy displayed by the teams—
many of whose universities do not regularly participate in moot
court events—was extraordinary. Furman, who also acted as
bailiff in several rounds, was equally impressed. “It was remarkable how talented this year’s competitors were,” he said. “Every
team I observed, whether in English, Portuguese, or Spanish, was
professional, well-prepared, and very effective.”
Ultimately, Universidad del Rosario (Colombia) team members
Diana Carolina Prado and Roberto Chain-Saieh were victorious.
Organizers say the Inter-American Sustainable Development Law
Moot Court Competition is scheduled to be an annual event.
Left to right: Ian Furman
(L ’11), Professor Colin
Crawford (Tulane), Professor
Feliciano de Sá Guimães
(FGV), Professor Paula
Spieler (FGV), and Tom
Sharp (L ’11)
DRLA RESPONDS TO
RISING RIVER FLOODS
s the Mississippi River rose to record
levels this spring, Tulane Law School’s
Disaster Resilience Leadership
Academy (DRLA) launched The Louisiana
Flood Disaster Resilience Watch. Dedicated to
the collection, monitoring, analysis, reporting,
and diffusion of strategic information, the platform identifies immediate needs with a long
term and sustained focus on building resilience.
To document the crisis, the DRLA maintained a Louisiana Flood Map online, where
residents in flood-affected areas of Louisiana
posted real-time information about their communities. Issues concerned flooded property,
public safety, water levels, pollution, health
effects, volunteer information, and resources for
flood protection and recovery. All reports are
screened, categorized, geolocated, rendered, and
A
made available to the public online in chronological and categorized lists.
“The purpose of the map is to empower citizens of flood-affected Louisiana to speak out
about how the flood is affecting their lives and
livelihoods, their communities and the environment,” said Ky Luu, DRLA executive director.
The site is similar to the Oil Spill Crisis Map
the DRLA created with the environmental advocacy group Louisiana Bucket Brigade to track
the effects of the 2010 Gulf oil spill. That map
generated more than 3,400 reports ranging from
spotting oiled wildlife to opportunities for
community organizing.
“With crisis mapping we have the possibility
of getting reports from anyone who notices a
problem whether it’s on the ground, from the
air or via a satellite,” says DRLA co-director
Nancy Mock, an associate professor in international health and international development.
“We can get better insights into the effects of
disasters because the information comes from
those affected by crises in near real time.”
As data is compiled and posted, policy makers, engineers, activists, and citizen responders
will have a comprehensive, interactive tool to
assess the overall impact of the flooding.
In addition to the Mississippi River flooding
and last year’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the
DRLA launched similar disaster recovery platforms relevant to the 7.2 magnitude earthquake
of January 2010 in Haiti, the 8.8 magnitude
earthquake of February 2010 in central Chile,
the August 2010 floods in Pakistan, the 9.0
magnitude quake and tsunami that devastated
Japan in March 2011, and the catastrophic
May 2011 tornadoes and severe weather across
southern United States.
P O S T- E A R T H Q U A K E H A I T I
FOCUSING ON THE FUTURE
I
FAL L 2 0 1 1 T U L A N E L AW Y E R
n an out-of-the-way office at University Square near the
Tulane uptown campus, Ky Luu and the Disaster Resilience
Leadership Academy (DRLA) in February led an international study on the continuing impact of humanitarian aid on the
victims of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.
Luu and his Tulane team flew to Haiti to help lead the first in a
series of workshops with 50 key Haitian government officials and
representatives from the private sector, donor groups, nongovernmental organizations, and the United Nations. The 18-month
study is made possible by a $780,000 grant from the Bill &
Melinda Gates Foundation.
Tulane is partnering with a delegation from the State
University of Haiti, led by its vice rector of academic affairs,
Wilson Laleau. The Haitian group spent the week of February 14
in New Orleans, learning about the city’s and Tulane’s recovery
from Hurricane Katrina and developing protocols for their study.
“We’re looking at the impact of humanitarian aid on the
resilience of the Haitian people,” said Luu, executive director
of the academy, a program within the Payson Center for
International Development at Tulane Law School. “Through these
efforts, we have established a process in Haiti that empowers the
impacted population to play a leadership role in their own future.”
The Tulane study, says Luu, is guided by the Haitian people’s
need for the country to recover in four sectors—economic
livelihood, infrastructure,
environment and social
needs. Tulane faculty members are involved in each
area of the study.
“There is no other study
like this one,” Laleau said
During a planning visit to Tulane, Wilson
during his Tulane visit, which
Laleau, right, vice rector of academic affairs
included a stop at Weinmann
at the State University of Haiti, meets with
Hall to discuss with Luu and
representatives from the Disaster Resilience
Tulane Law School Dean
Leadership Academy.
David Meyer the possibility
of future collaborations.
Recommendations will be used to help guide the new Haitian
government and the international community operating
in Haiti to allocate resources.
“As Tulane and the people of New Orleans have experienced
following Hurricane Katrina, recovery after a natural disaster
is a lengthy process that requires planning, preparation, and
resources,” said Luu. “It is our experience with catastrophic
events that tells us the earlier that leaders think about transition
to recovery and long-term redevelopment, the more effective
we can be in identifying the appropriate assistance and providing
it in such a way that leaves the people of Haiti more resilient
to future challenges. Tulane University’s Disaster Resilience
Leadership Academy is committed to this long-term effort.”
11
FA C U LT Y N O T E B O O K
FEDERAL PREEMPTION
W H AT I S I T A N D W H Y I S I T I M P O R T A N T ?
B Y P R O F E S S O R E D W A R D F. S H E R M A N
Edward F. Sherman. W.R. Irby
Chair and Moise S. Steeg Jr.
Professor of Law, Tulane University
School of Law. AB 1959, Georgetown University; MA 1962, MA
1967, University of Texas; JD 1962,
SJD 1981, Harvard Law School
Professor Sherman was the Chair of the ABA Task
Force on Federal Preemption of State Tort Law, composed of a distinguished group of lawyers, judges, and
academics, which held hearings and studied the current
state of preemption law in 2009–2010. The Task Force’s
recommendations, calling for greater certainty as to
preemptive intent in congressional acts and administrative rules and regulations, were adopted by the ABA
House of Delegates. Articles by task force members
and other experts were published in a Symposium in
84 Tul. L. Rev. 1127 (2010).
T U L A N E L AW YE R FA LL 20 1 1
A
12
ny mention of the legal
doctrine of “federal preemption” causes most peoples’
eyes to glaze over. And yet
the division of powers between the federal government and the states is one of
the bedrock principles of our American
constitutional system. Tension between
the authority of states and the federal
government has been a central theme in
American history (for example, slavery
in the 19th century; health and safety
standards in the regulation of labor and
manufacturing in the early 20th century;
federal civil rights initiatives in the
mid-20th century; and now in the 21st
century such issues as states’ intrusion
into immigration, marihuana use, and
foreign policy1).
A perennial problem in our federal
system is that of defining the boundaries
between federal law on various subjects
and state law dealing with the same subjects. Today when there is extensive governmental regulation at both federal and
state levels and a broad regulatory role
for administrative agencies, preemption
especially comes into play in defining
the authority of overlapping laws and
regulations over particular legal issues.
The most controversial issue today—that
divides the plaintiff and defense bars—is
whether persons injured from a defective
product, environmental condition, or
negligent conduct can sue for damages
THE CONSTITUTIONAL
BASIS FOR PREEMPTION
The Constitution delegates specific
powers to the federal government, and
the Tenth Amendment provides that the
powers not delegated to the United States
are “reserved to the States respectively,
or to the people.” Under the Supremacy
Clause, the Constitution and laws of the
United States “shall be the supreme law
of the land.” This ensures that the federal
government, when acting pursuant to its
constitutional powers, may preempt state
law—that is, displace the state law that
would otherwise govern. Preemption can
be “express” under the terms of a provision in the Constitution or a statute. For
“P R E E M P T I O N I S A P OW E R F U L W E A P O N F O R A
D E F E N D A N T. I T I S N O T M E R E LY A D E F E N S E B U T
A N A B S O L U T E B A R T O R E C O V E RY F O R I N J U R I E S.”
— P R O F. E D S H E R M A N
under state law when a federal administrative agency has previously given
approval for its sale or manner of operation. An interesting aspect is that the
usual ideological positions of each side
has shifted, with the usual conservative
advocates of states’ rights in support of
prohibiting state-law remedies and the
usual liberal advocates of federal government regulation opposing the displacement of state law.
example, Art. I, Sec. 10, of the
Constitution provides that “No State
shall…coin money,” and any state’s
attempt to establish currency would be
preempted. Some federal statutes such
as the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic
Act expressly preempt state law.2
Preemption may also be “implied,” as
will be discussed more fully later.
The proper substantive scope of federal preemption is a broad policy issue.
The case of Silkwood v. KerrMcGee was the basis of a popular 1983 movie starring Meryl
Streep as Karen Silkwood.
Based on a true story, the film
recounts the story of Silkwood,
the Oklahoma nuclear-plant
worker who blew the whistle
on dangerous practices at the
Kerr-McGee plant and who
died under circumstances
which are still under debate.
to go forward. Two cases might provide
a little human interest to demonstrate
how preemption issues can arise and the
considerations in determining whether
preemption is applied.
S I L K W O O D V. K E R R M C G E E C O R P O R AT I O N
The case of Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee3
was the basis of a popular 1983 movie
starring Meryl Streep (who, as well as
some other members of the cast, was
nominated for an Academy Award).
Karen Silkwood was a $4 an hour
technician employed by Kerr-McGee
Corporation at its plant near Oklahoma
City that made plutonium pellet fuel rods
for nuclear power plants. On leaving
work one day, she was found to be contaminated by radioactivity and although
she was washed down, the condition continued and her apartment also became
contaminated. She believed this was the
result of the company’s negligence in
failing to establish proper safety standards for handling radioactive material
in the plant.
Like most movies that look for the
sensational, “Silkwood” dealt primarily
with her union activism and death in an
auto accident, while on the way to talk to
a reporter, suggesting that her employer
had something to do with the accident.
Her case (actually brought by her parents
after her death) only alleged negligence
in the storage and use of radioactive
materials. It went all the way to the U.S.
Supreme Court on the issue of preemption with the question being whether her
negligence claim under Oklahoma tort
law—that resulted in a $10 million punitive damages award by the jury—was
preempted by federal regulation of safety
standards in nuclear plants.
The Supreme Court, in an opinion by
Justice White, ruled that there was no
preemption and the Oklahoma punitive
damages award could stand. Kerr-McGee
had argued that Congress in the Atomic
Energy Act intended that the federal government, through the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, should regulate all radiological safety aspects involved in the
construction and operation of nuclear
plants. A punitive damage award under
state law to punish conduct regarding
radiation hazards was seen as interfering
with the federal regulatory scheme that
involved fines and other measures. The
FA L L 2 0 1 1 T U L A N E L AW YE R
State law is assumed to apply along with
federal law when federal and state laws
address the same matters. When the
interaction of federal law and state tort
law claims is at issue, a fact-specific
inquiry may be necessary to determine
whether federal regulation and the state
law claim can properly coexist.
The policies invoked by those favoring preemption of state tort law by federal agencies stress national uniformity
and agency expertise in administering
federal regulatory standards. Agencies
are seen as better suited to evaluating the
scientific literature and technical developments in carrying out their responsibility for protecting health and safety on
a national level. Nationwide distribution
of products is said to call for providing
manufacturers with comprehensive and
consistent standards, as opposed to the
ad hoc nature of jury trials of state-law
claims, in deciding liability.
Those opposing preemption stress the
interests of the states in providing judicial remedies and deterrence in administering their tort laws pursuant to their
constitutional authority over state-created
rights and obligations. They emphasize
the “complementary” role of state tort
law to agency regulation, providing a
compensatory remedy to the limited regulatory function of an agency. They point
to the fact that particularly in the last
several decades agencies often lack the
resources and staff adequately to assess
the safety of products, drugs or conditions, and thus their standards for
approval should be seen as only a floor
rather than a ceiling for what is expected
of the manufacturer.
Preemption is a powerful weapon for
a defendant. It is not merely a defense
but an absolute bar to recovery for
injuries, cutting off access to a damage
remedy even though negligence and
injury caused by the defendant might be
found if the legal process were allowed
13
FA C U LT Y N O T E B O O K
Act did not expressly prohibit a state-law
remedy like punitive damages, and the
Court found no “implied” preemption.
The first kind of implied preemption—“field preemption”—applies when
Congress evidences intent to occupy a
given field, thus preempting “any state
law falling within that field.”4 The Court
found no intent in the Atomic Energy Act
to forbid resort to “state-law remedies
by those suffering injuries from radiation
in a nuclear plant.”5 The second kind of
implied preemption—“conflict preemption”—preempts state law if its application makes it “impossible to comply with
both state and federal law” or “stands as
an obstacle to the accomplishment of the
W Y E T H V. L E V I N E
Wyeth v. Levine, decided 24 years after
Silkwood, involved a claim of preemption resulting from a federal agency’s
approval of warnings contained in the
drug’s label. In the intervening period
between the cases, defendant companies
had increasingly relied on getting
approval for various aspects of the
design, production and marketing of
drugs, medical devices, or products that
would be claimed to preempt a patient’s
or customer’s right to sue for injuries
under state tort law.
Diana Levine, a professional musician,
went to a hospital for treatment of a
“ W H E N C O U R T S A R E C A L L E D O N T O C O N S T R U E S T AT U T E S ,
R U L E S , A N D R E G U L AT I O N S T O D E T E R M I N E I F C O N G R E S S O R
A N AG E N C Y H A S I N T E N D E D TO A S S E RT P R E E M P T I O N, A P R E S U M P T I O N C O U L D T I P T H E B A L A N C E I N PA R T I C U L A R C A S E S . ”
T U L A N E L AW YE R FA LL 20 1 1
— P R O F. E D S H E R M A N
14
full purposes and objective of Congress.”6
The Court found that a punitive damages
award would neither make it impossible
for the federal regulatory agency to carry
out proper regulation of nuclear energy
nor be an obstacle to its performance of
its responsibilities. The Court found it
“difficult to believe that Congress would,
without comment, remove all means of
judicial recourse for those injured by
illegal conduct.”7 Thus, under Silkwood,
preemption should only be implied if
there were a clear intent to preempt state
law in the statute or agency regulation,
a point that will be made even more
forcefully in the next case to be discussed. The damage award in favor of
Karen Silkwood’s heirs was affirmed.
migraine headache. A drug manufactured
by Wyeth, Phenergan, was injected into
her artery, resulting in the necessity
to amputate her right arm. Wyeth had
known that when Phenergan comes in
contact with an artery, the artery dies
and, if injected in a limb, amputation will
likely be required. Intravenous injection
of the drug should not have been done
directly into the artery, but the label
failed to warn against that method. A jury
found Wyeth liable under Vermont tort
law for failure to give adequate warning
on the label and, having established that
Levine’s injury would not have occurred
if the label had included an adequate
warning about the risks of the method
used, awarded her $6,774,000.
Wyeth alleged federal preemption
and sought to dismiss the state-law
claim. It argued that because the federal
government (via the Federal Food and
Drug Administration) regulates drugs,
patients should not be allowed to sue
under state law if the drug maker followed the rules established by the FDA.
The Court, in an opinion by Justice
Stevens,8 found that the state-law cause
of action for failure to warn did not
make it “impossible” for Wyeth to comply with its state and federal law obligations, nor did it pose an “obstacle” to the
conduct of the FDA’s regulatory duties.9
Although the FDA had approved the
label without the warning, the Court
noted a manufacturer’s duty to correct a
label if there were information indicating
it was inadequate. It rejected the
contention that Wyeth could not have
modified the warning label that had been
approved. Wyeth’s lawyer commented:
“We believed that Federal law prohibited
the company from revising its product
label as the Vermont court required,
and we regret that the Supreme Court
disagreed. The medical and scientific
experts at FDA are in the best position
to weigh the risks and benefits of a
medicine and to assess how those risks
and benefits should be described in the
product’s label.”10
The FDA had stated in the preamble
to the regulation at issue in Wyeth
that the application of state law was
preempted. Preemption dismissals
became especially prominent during the
administration of President George W.
Bush as a result of various federal agencies asserting preemption in preambles
to regulations (or in other ways such as
filing an amicus brief in pending cases
in which a defendant sought preemption). Prominent among those agencies
were the FDA, the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA),
and the Consumer Product Safety
Commission (CPSC). There was often
little evidence that an agency had consulted with state officials or made a
careful weighing of the risks and benefits of excluding state tort-law remedies.
The Supreme Court in Wyeth rejected
preambles as an appropriate means of
asserting preemption.11
Wyeth was a watershed case in
reestablishing a “presumption against
preemption.” A presumption against preemption had a long and somewhat inconsistent history in the case law. When
courts are called on to construe statutes,
rules, and regulations to determine if
Congress or an agency has intended to
assert preemption, a presumption could
tip the balance in particular cases.
Likewise, the extent to which courts
defer to agency expressions of the need
for preemption is a significant issue in
the case law. Wyeth stated that “[i]n all
pre-emption cases, and particularly in
those in which Congress has ‘legislated
... in a field which the States have traditionally occupied,’ ... we start with the
assumption that the historic police
powers of the States were not to be
superseded by the Federal Act unless that
was the clear and manifest purpose of
Congress.”12 Thus, post-Wyeth standards
for preemption dismissals seem to place
a higher duty on a defendant seeking
preemption to overcome a presumption
that state law should not be displaced.
Donna Levine thus increased the chance
that someone injured by a defect in a
product regulated by a federal agency
can receive a monetary recovery.
A B A TA S K F O R C E
PROPOSALS
NOTES
1 See Movsesian v. Victoria Versicherung
AG, 578 F.3d 1052 (9th Cir. 2009) (California
statute providing a right to sue by heirs of victims of “Armenian Genocide” preempted by
the national government’s power to conduct
foreign affairs); Crosby v. Nat’l Foreign Trade
Council, 530 U.S. 363 (2000) (Massachusetts
law barring its agencies from purchasing
goods and services from companies doing
business with Myanmar preempted by federal
government’s foreign policy of sanctions
placed on the country).
2 See, e.g., Riegel v. Medtronic, Inc.,
552 U.S. 312 (2008) (Food and Drug
Administration’s (FDA) premarket approval
process for medical devices establishes federal
“requirements” under the Medical Device
Amendments to the Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act providing for preemption of
state law, and state common law action for
negligence, strict liability, etc. dismissed).
3 Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corporation,
464 U.S. 238 (1984).
4 Id. at 248.
5 Id. at 251.
6 Id. at 248.
7 Id. at 251.
8 Justices Roberts, Alito, and Scalia
dissented, and Justice Thomas filed a
concurring opinion.
9 Wyeth v. Levine, 129 S. Ct. 1187, 555
U.S. 555 (2009).
10 Wall Street Journal, Health Blog, March 4,
2009.
11 Id. at 2003.
12 Id. at 1195.
13 American Bar Association Task Force
on Federal Agency Preemption of State Tort
Law, Report to the House of Delegates,
Recommendation, Appendix to Edward F.
Sherman, Federal Preemption of State Tort
Law: Policies, Procedures, and Proposals of
the ABA Task Force, 84 Tul. L. Rev. 1127, 1140.
14 ABA Washington Letter, Nov. 2010, Vol.
46, No. 11.
FA L L 2 0 1 1 T U L A N E L AW YE R
The ABA Task Force proposals called
for greater clarity in assertions of preemption by both Congress and federal
agencies and for more careful consideration of state interests before making such
a decision. First, they called on Congress
to “address foreseeable preemption
issues when it enacts a statute that has
the potential to displace, supplement, or
otherwise affect state law.”13 That would
include being clear and explicit “when it
intends to preempt state law, including,
specifically, whether any intended preemptive effect includes displacement of
state-imposed common-law duties.”
Second, the Task Force recommended
that each agency should, in any proposed
rulemaking that it believes has the effect
of preempting state law, explain the scope
of the preemptive effect and why it is necessary or legally required. It should also
provide factual support in the record for
any assertions that state law is interfering
with the operation of federal law, as well
as the agency’s reasoning to support any
predictions or concerns that state tort law
would in the future interfere with the
operation of federal laws or regulations.
A great deal of judicial time and
litigant expense has been devoted to the
preemption issue in recent decades. There
are legitimate reasons for preemption—
both express and implied—but wasted
effort could be avoided if Congress and
agencies made their intent clear and followed the procedures of establishing a
record that justifies preemption. An
encouraging sign is that the Uniform Law
Commission (ULC) has held a conference on preemption and discussed
uniform state and federal legislation to
encapsulate such recommendations.14
15
FA C U LT Y N E W S
FA C U LT Y A P P O I N T M E N T S A N D
E N D OW E D P RO F E S S O R S H I P S
T
hree members of the Tulane University Law School faculty recently have been appointed to
distinguished endowed professorships. Investiture in an endowed professorship is one of the
highest honors an academic institution can bestow and marks the attainment of high distinction as a scholar. Endowed professorships provide essential resources to support future research and
professional leadership, raising the national profile of both the scholar and the institution. These
named professorships thus serve as a reminder of the important role that private support plays in
enriching the intellectual life and impact of Tulane Law School.
While two of the law school’s three newly endowed scholars, Professors Colin Crawford and
Adam Feibelman, joined the Tulane faculty laterally in 2010, the third appointment recognizes one
of the faculty’s longest-serving members—Professor Cindy Samuel.
U.S. Agency for International Development to direct an environmental law
capacity-building project in Guatemala,
Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic.
C O L I N C R AW F O R D
T U L A NE L AWY E R FA LL 2 0 1 1
Robert C. Cudd Professor of Law and
Executive Director, Payson Center for
International Development
BA, Columbia University; MA, 1st Class
Honors, University of Cambridge; JD,
Harvard University
16
Professor Colin Crawford is a highly
regarded scholar in the field of international environmental law and development. A self-described “deep believer in
the importance of international education,
especially in the globalized market,”
Crawford’s work addresses comparative,
cross-cultural environmental justice
issues, with a particular focus on Latin
America and the Caribbean. Among other
indicators of his stature in the field, he
recently was awarded a three-year grant
from Higher Education for Development/
The Robert C. Cudd Professorship in
Environmental Law was established in
1998 to honor a distinguished alumnus
with an extraordinary record of service
and support to Tulane University. Robert
C. Cudd III is a 1958 graduate of Tulane
College and a 1960 graduate of Tulane
Law School. Cudd has served Tulane
University in multiple capacities, including on the President’s Council and as
Chair of the development/finance committee of the Intercollegiate Athletics
Council. In 1998, Cudd generously
endowed the Robert C. Cudd III Scholarship to enable the law school to recruit
exceptionally talented Louisiana students.
ADAM FEIBELMAN
Sumter Davis Marks Professor of Law
BA, Wesleyan University; JD, Yale
University
Professor Adam Feibelman, who joins
Tulane Law School from the University of
North Carolina faculty, is a nationally recognized scholar in several fields relating
to commercial law, including bankruptcy,
consumer protection, and the role of debt
in international development. His primary
teaching and research interests include
contracts, consumer financial transactions, banking law, bankruptcy, law and
development, and sovereign debt.
During 2010, the North Carolina Law
Review, the Brooklyn Journal of International Law, and the peer-reviewed
Journal of International Banking Law
and Regulation all published articles by
Feibelman, who has another four in
progress. Furthering his scholarship during
the 2010–11 academic year, Feibelman
presented his work at the University of
Pennsylvania Law School, the University
of Florida Law School, Cardozo Law
School, American University School of
Law, and the University of Minnesota Law
School, among other venues.
The Sumter Davis Marks Professorship
was established in 1998 to honor a distinguished alumnus in the class of 1916 who
rose to the highest ranks of the legal profession in Louisiana. Sumter Davis Marks
earned his BA from Tulane College in
1914 and his law degree two years later.
A named partner in the New Orleans law
firm of Phelps, Dunbar, Marks, Claverie
& Sims, Marks served as president of both
the New Orleans and Louisiana Bar Associations. He also served the law school
for many years as an Adjunct Professor.
T O L E A R N M O R E A B O U T E S TA B L I S H I N G A P R O F E S S O R S H I P
AT T U L A N E L AW S C H O O L O R T O D I S C O V E R A D D I T I O N A L
WAY S T O S H O W Y O U R S U P P O R T , C O N T A C T T U L A N E L AW
S C H O O L’ S D E V E L O P M E N T O F F I C E AT ( 5 0 4 ) 8 6 2 - 8 5 5 9 .
CYNTHIA ANN SAMUEL
AMY GAJDA
W.R. Irby Chair in Law and John E. Koerner
Professor of Law
BA, Louisiana State University; JD,
Tulane University Law School
Associate Professor of Law
BA, The University of Michigan;
JD, Wayne State University
Professor Cindy Samuel (L ’72) is a distinguished scholar in civil law relating to family
law, trusts and estates, and property. She
plays a prominent role in law reform in
Louisiana through the leadership Council
of the Louisiana Law Institute and currently
serves as the Reporter for the Institute’s
Committee on Trusts. In this role, Samuel
has primary drafting and leadership
responsibility for the Institute’s commentary
and law revision work relating to state law
in the field. A member of the American
Law Institute and an academic fellow of
the American College of Trust and Estate
Counsel, Samuel has served her alma mater
since 1975—both as a faculty member and
former Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.
S A R U M ATA M B A N A D Z O
Associate Professor of Law
BA, summa cum laude, University of
Pittsburgh; JD, Harvard University;
MA, PhD, University of CaliforniaLos Angeles (UCLA)
Professor Saru Matambanadzo’s scholarly and teaching interests range from corporate law and gender law to legal history
and legal theory. Since law school, where
she served as an editor for the Harvard
Women’s Law Journal, she has worked as a
senior researcher on real estate and securities litigation matters at a law firm in Los
Angeles, while completing her PhD in
women’s studies at UCLA. Her dissertation, Personifying Bodies and Embodying
Persons, focuses on “Legal Personhood
Before 1900.”
Matambanadzo has taught and
lectured at UCLA, California State
University-Long Beach, and the
University of Oregon. She is a coauthor
of Sex Discrimination in a Nutshell
(West) and has published articles in the
Cardozo Journal of Law and Gender
and Policy Futures in Education.
FA L L 2 0 1 1 T U L AN E L AW Y E R
The John E. Koerner Endowed
Professorship was established in 2004
by fellow alumni and colleagues to honor
outstanding business and civic leader John
E. Koerner III, a 1969 graduate of the law
school. Koerner holds three degrees from
Tulane, earning his BS in 1965, his JD in
1969, and his MBA in 1970. Formerly the
longtime president of Barq’s, Mr. Koerner
has served since 1995 as the managing
member of Koerner Capital, LLC. He has
served Tulane University and the law school
in a number of vital capacities, including
as Chair of the University’s Board of
Administrators, and continues to serve
as a member of the Law School Dean’s
Advisory Board.
Professor Amy Gajda joined the Tulane
Law School faculty in 2010 from the
University of Illinois, where she was
Assistant Professor of Journalism and Law
with appointments in both the College of
Law and the College of Media. Gajda’s primary research interests relate to privacy,
freedom of expression, media law, and the
First Amendment. Among other matters,
her work explores the tensions between
social regulation and protected expression
in contexts ranging from academic speech
to news reporting. Before her teaching
career, Gajda practiced law in Washington,
DC. She worked as a television journalist,
anchoring and producing newscasts and
reporting for major television station affiliates prior to pursuing her law degree. A
commentator for Illinois NPR stations,
Gajda has won seven Associated Press
awards for her legal journalism. Among her
numerous publications, Gajda’s book, The
Trials of Academe, was published by
Harvard University Press in 2009.
Gajda serves as chair of the Association
of American Law Schools (AALS) Mass
Communication Section and is the incoming chair of the AALS section on
Defamation and Privacy. She is a member
of the bars of the District of Columbia,
Virginia, and
Michigan.
17
New to the Tulane community,
Prof. Amy Stein (left)
acquaints herself with life
at the law school prior to the
start of the fall semester.
AMY STEIN
Associate Professor of Law
BA, with honors, Environmental Studies,
JD, University of Chicago
MICHAEL SACKEY
T UL AN E L AW Y E R FALL 2 0 1 1
Professor of the Practice in Legal Writing
BA, University of Rochester; JD,
magna cum laude, Washington and Lee
University
18
Professor Michael Sackey joins Tulane
Law School from a teaching position at
Columbus School of Law, The Catholic
University of America. Previously, he was
an associate at the Washington, DC, law
firm of Arnold & Porter. Immediately
after graduating from law school,
where he served as notes editor on the
Washington and Lee Law Review, Sackey
served as judicial clerk on the U.S.
District Court for the Southern District
of West Virginia. Since 2000, he has
engaged in extensive pro bono work,
focusing on capital habeas litigation.
Professor Amy Stein’s primary interests
are energy law, administrative law, and
environmental law, with emphasis on natural resources, climate change, and water
resources. She joins Tulane Law School
from The George Washington University,
where she taught as an adjunct professor
in the environmental studies program,
and as Visiting Associate Professor of
Legal Research and Writing, Acting
Associate Director of the Legal Research
and Writing Program, and Co-Director
of the Scholarly Writing Program at
The George Washington University Law
School. Following law school, Stein
worked as an associate for Latham &
Watkins LLP in the firm’s environmental
and litigation departments (Washington,
DC, and Silicon Valley).
Most recently, Stein has been published in the University of Colorado Law
Review and the Duke Environmental Law
and Policy Forum. She is a member of
the District of Columbia, Illinois, and
California state bars.
Adeno Addis delivered
a plenary lecture at an
international stocktaking conference on
human rights held in
May 2011 at the University of Antwerp
in Belgium. Addis spoke on “Shared
Responsibility in International Law.”
Adam Babich has published his article,
“Can the Preemption Doctrine Protect
Public Participation?” in the Case Western
Reserve Law Review (Summer 2011). He
presented “The Preemption Doctrine and
Public Participation
Rights” at the Case
Western Reserve Law
Review symposium,
“Government Speech:
The Government’s
Ability to Compel and Restrict Speech,”
held in Cleveland, Ohio, November 19,
2010. Babich also served as a panelist
on the topic of professional responsibility
and environmental ethics at the ABA
Section of Environment, Energy and
Resources Annual Meeting held in New
Orleans last October.
Paul Barron has published Secured
Transactions: Problems and Materials
(with Mark B. Wessman) (2nd ed., West).
S. Alan Childress has published the 4th
edition of Federal Standards of Review
(with Martha S. Davis) (3 vols., Lexis
Nexis). Childress also authored forewords
and explanatory notes of two additional
books, including The State and Federal
Governments of the United States by
Woodrow Wilson, and The Common Law
by Oliver W. Holmes Jr. Both have been
published by Quid Pro, LLC (2010).
FA C U LT Y P U B L I C AT I O N S , P R E S E N TAT I O N S & H O N O R S
Mark S. Davis in July 2010 announced
the receipt of a one-year $75,000
McKnight Foundation General Support
Grant for the Tulane Institute on Water
Resources Law and Policy and the
Tulane/Xavier Center for Bioenvironmental Research. According to Davis,
“The basis for the grant was the collaborative work we have done on coastal/
community sustainability, particularly in
the Lower Ninth Ward and the neighboring wetlands of Orleans, St. Bernard, and
Plaquemines Parishes.”
In April, Davis was named The Green
Project’s 2011 “Green Giant.” Each year
(since 2007), the Green Project awards
the Green Giant trophy to a New Orleans
area person who has demonstrated a sustained commitment to the environment
and, subsequently, has significantly improved the environmental quality of New
Orleans or southeast Louisiana. The Green
Project, a nonprofit building supply retail
store in New Orleans, handles paint
recycling, electronic waste recycling, and
grease collection for biodiesel fuel.
Amy Gajda presented the keynote
address at Stetson University College of
Law’s 32nd Annual National Conference
on Law & Higher Education, February
5–8, 2011, in Orlando. Gajda’s address,
“The Rise of a Litigation and Risk Management Culture on Campus,” was relevant to this year’s conference, which
reviewed campus violence, challenges to
academic freedom, issues of free speech,
and the rise of virtual campuses.
Stephen M. Griffin has published “The
National Security Constitution and the
Bush Administration” in the Yale Law
Journal Online (March 2011). He presented “The Legal Justification for the
Vietnam War: Backwards and Forwards
with Nicholas deB. Katzenbach” at the
international conference, “The American
Experience in Southeast Asia, 1946–
1975,” held in September 2010 at the
U.S. Department of State, Bureau of
Public Affairs, Office of the Historian
in Washington, DC.
Günther Handl has several recent
publications including: “The Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Regime: Towards
Acceleration or Reversal of its Declining
Effectiveness?” in the Tulane Journal
of International and Comparative Law;
“In Re South African Apartheid Litigation and Beyond: Corporate Liability for
Aiding and Abetting under the Alien Tort
Statute,” in the German Yearbook of
International Law; and “American-Mexican Boundary Disputes and Cooperation,” in Max Planck Encyclopedia of
Public International Law (Rüdiger
Wolfrum, ed., Oxford Univ. Press). His
review of Elisa Morgera’s book, Corporate Accountability in International
Environmental Law, has been published
in Volume 19 (p.126) of the Review of
European Community and International
Environmental Law (2010).
Handl made two presentations in March
2011 including one in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, on “Business and Human Rights”
at the international symposium, “Energy,
the Environment and Human Rights:
Issues and Challenges on the Eve of
Rio+20,” and another at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law in Washington, DC, where he
presented “The Risk of Offshore Oil and
Gas Operations: International Legal
Implications and IMO’s Response.”
His October 2010 interview with
China Radio International on the topic of
Arctic Territorial Rights is available at
FA L L 2 0 1 1 T U L A N E L AWY E R
Onnig H. Dombalagian was invited to
comment on “Living
Wills as a Catalyst for
Action,” at the Conference on International
Financial and Monetary Law (sponsored
by The Heyman Center
on Corporate Governance, Benjamin N.
Cardozo School of Law) held in New
York last June 2010. He also presented
“Swaps from a Lawyer’s Perspective” at
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, DC, in August
2010. The talk was designed to familiarize staff members of the Securities and
Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
with the operation of over-the-counter
markets in preparation for their implementation of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street
Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
Jörg Fedtke,
co-director, EasonWeinmann Center for
Comparative Law, has
joined an international
effort to support regional politicians
and civil servants in developing a more
responsible and constructive system of
administration and good governance in
the troubled region of Kirkuk, Iraq. The
first workshop took place in Broummana
(near Beirut, Lebanon) and brought
together members of the Regional Council, the Deputy Governor, and representatives of Kirkuk in the National Assembly.
As a result, participants were able to
agree on the so-called Beirut Initiative,
a set of common aims mainly in the area
of regional economic development. The
18-month project is funded by the German Foreign Office and organized by the
Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNS).
More recently, Fedtke was invited to
discuss election laws and other constitutional challenges that Egypt is facing at
an event hosted by the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR) and
the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for
Liberty (FNF) on April 6, 2011, in Cairo.
Upon his return to New Orleans, Fedtke
addressed members of the Tulane community during an Eason-Weinmann Center lunchtime talk, where he gave a firsthand account of the most important legal
issues discussed during the occasion.
19
FA C U LT Y P U B L I C AT I O N S , P R E S E N TAT I O N S & H O N O R S
http://english.cri.cn/7146/2010/10/25/
2001s600946.htm.
Oliver A. Houck has published a flood
of new articles, most recently including:
“Oil & Accountability: Who Will Pay to
Fix Louisiana?” in The Nation (available
at http://www.thenation.com/article/
36610/who-will-pay-fix-louisiana);
“Worst Case and the Deepwater Horizon
Blowout: There Ought to Be a Law,” in
the Tulane Environmental Law Journal;
and “The Clean Water Act Returns
(Again): Part I, TMDLs and the Chesapeake Bay,” in the Environmental Law
Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.). The Environmental Forum published the following
articles by Houck: “Oil Over Again:
From the Exxon Valdez to BP and
Beyond” (reviewing David Lebedoff,
Cleaning Up: the Story Behind the
Biggest Legal Bonanza of Our Time
[1997]); “Regulating Law: Environmental Protection’s Belief Systems” (reviewing Douglas A. Kysar, Regulating From
Nowhere: Environmental Law and the
Search for Objectivity [2010]); and “Trial
by Fire: Saving the American West,”
(reviewing Timothy Egan, The Big Burn:
Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire That Saved
America [2009]).
Houck presented “Key Developments
Concerning Water Resources, Quality,
and Wetlands” at the 41st Annual ALIABA Course of Study on Environmental
Law held in Washington, DC, this past
February, and “Where The Wild Things
Are: Writing About the Gulf ” at the
Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary
Festival held in New Orleans in March.
David R. Katner presented “Daycare
and Delinquency” at the 33rd Annual
Conference of the
National Association
of Counsel for Children held in Austin,
Texas, and “Current
Issues in Competency
and Juvenile Law” at
the Tulane Inns of Court in New Orleans.
His revised article, “Delinquency
and Daycare,” formerly published in the
Harvard Law and Policy Review, will
be published later this fall in Juvenile
Justice for Kids (Nancy E. Dowd, ed.,
NYU Press). Earlier this year, the
UMKC Law Review published Katner’s
article, “Revising Legal Ethics in
Delinquency Cases by Consulting with
Juveniles’ Parents.”
Adding to Katner’s busy academic
year, the clinical law professor sat on two
separate panels this past spring including: “Judicial Institutions” at the Tulane
Center for Inter-American Policy and
Research Symposium, “Representativeness and Effectiveness in Latin American
Institutions and Democracies,” held in
New Orleans in March, and “Starting
a Sole Law Practice” at a Tulane Law
School Career Development Office
Program in April.
continued on page 24
CAMEROON CONFERENCE
T O U C H E S O N C O N T R A C T L AW
laire Moore Dickerson, the
Senator John B. Breaux Professor of Law at Tulane, visited
Cameroon in January for an international
conference on commercial and contract
law. Organized jointly by the University
of Basel (Switzerland) and the University of Buea (Cameroon), where
Dickerson is a permanent visiting professor, the conference was sponsored by
UNCITRAL, UNIDROIT, and OHADA
(l’Organisation pour l’Harmonisation en
Afrique du Droit des Affaires, in English,
Organization for Harmonization in
Africa of Business Laws).
While attending the conference,
T U L A N E L AW YE R FA LL 2 01 1
C
20
Dickerson spoke in Douala addressing
“OHADA’s Proposed Uniform Act on
Contract Law: Formal Law for the
Informal Sector” and served on several
committees to evaluate the work of candidates for advanced degrees in law at the
University of Buea. The latter was the
culmination of a five-week visit to the
university last fall, where Dickerson
worked with those students and their
colleagues.
Furthermore during her visit in 2010,
Dickerson studied, with a sociologist
from the University of Buea, the impact
of business law in informal-sector markets, and subsequently presented some of
her work at the University of Cape Town
in South Africa. Her November 30, 2010,
presentation, “Promises of Future Performance and Informal-Sector Transfers
of Personal Property: The Example of
Anglophone Cameroon,” is due to be
published in ACTA JURIDICA (2011).
TUNED INTO THE
L AW S O F C O P Y R I G H T
A
ADDITIONAL SOURCES
• Townsend-Gard, Elizabeth, “Copyright Law v. Trade Policy:
Understanding the Golan Battle within the Tenth Circuit” (March 8,
2011). Columbia Journal of Law & the Arts, Vol. 34, No. 2, 2011.
Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1781011.
• Townsend-Gard, Elizabeth and Ron Gard, “The Present (User-Generated Crisis) Is the Past (1909 Copyright Act): An Essay Theorizing the
‘Traditional Contours of Copyright’ Language.” Cardozo Arts & Entertainment. Vol. 28:455. Available at: http://www.cardozoaelj.com/
wp-content/uploads/Journal Issues/Volume 28/Issue 3/gard.pdf.
FA L L 2 0 1 1 T U L A NE L AW Y E R
University of Denver music professor is orchestrating
a legal concerto on the concept of the public domain,
and scholars, artists, and musicians alike are taking
note. The issue at the heart of Professor Lawrence Golan’s copyright campaign dates back to 1994, when Congress passed a law
restoring countless foreign copyrighted works, which had slipped
into the U.S. public domain, back under the shield of copyright
protection. Now the case of Golan v. Holder is headed to the
United States Supreme Court, set to play out in October 2011.
Tulane University Law School Professor Elizabeth
Townsend-Gard, an expert in the fields of intellectual property
and copyright law, is just one in the market of scholars who for
years has struggled with the physics of the public domain. A
victory for Golan, she says, would be music to her ears.
While working on her doctoral dissertation in the 1990s,
Townsend-Gard worried whether a number of the materials she
needed were permissible to publish, questioning herself on the
topics of copyright, fair use, the Internet, and the public domain.
“Was the law different if the works, as in my case, concerned
foreign authors?” asked Townsend-Gard, whose work in the U.S.
did in fact concern a British author’s archive materials housed in
Canada. “Were the laws the same if I used the work in the U.S.,
Canada, or the U.K.?”
After completing her PhD, the European history doctoral
graduate enrolled in law school “to better understand the law
surrounding the daily work of a historian.” Nonetheless, nearly
fifteen years later and 1,900 miles from where her quest began,
she admits she still struggles to grasp the complexities of
copyright law.
In an article published by the Chronicle of Higher Education
in May 2011, Townsend-Gard echoed her frustration with the
‘cultural crossroads conundrum’ she, like so many others, faces
on a daily basis.
“For people who work on the 20th century, it’s fairly horrible,”
Townsend-Gard told Chronicle journalist Marc Parry
who turned to the legal scholar for a better understanding of the constitutional challenges at hand. “It’s deterring digitization on anything foreign, because people
can’t figure it out.”
For years, Townsend-Gard has engaged in trying
to answer one simple question: when does a pre-1978
work come into the public domain? So, in the summer
of 2007, with the help of Tulane law graduates,
Townsend-Gard invented a software tool—The
Durationator™—that addresses the complexity of
that question by helping to determine the copyright
status of any given work.
According to Parry, the software could benefit a large number
of people. “The law at stake in Golan alone potentially affects
anyone studying works created or published by non-U.S. authors
or publishers from 1923 to 1989,” he wrote.
Townsend-Gard gave an overview of the ambitious “Usable
Past Project” in 2010 at a conference hosted by the Berkeley
Center for Law and Technology (BCLT). Responding to the software tool, BCLT Copyright Research Fellow Tara Wheatland
said, “The complexity of this project speaks volumes about the
complexity of formalities themselves throughout the history
of copyright law.”
Now in the early years of the twenty-first century—three
hundred years after the first copyright act—“we may be on the
threshold of constitutionally defining the public domain,” says
Townsend-Gard.
“As the Tenth circuit in Golan described it, once a work is in
the public domain, it stays there,” Townsend-Gard stated. “A constitutionally-defined public domain would protect the concept
that a work is created, legally protected, and then released into the
public domain. A constitutionally-defined public domain would
require certainty—that users are able to determine the legal status
of a work, without any confusion or difficulty.”
Townsend-Gard says she often looks back to her days as a
doctoral student “who just wanted to know if there were works
she could use without restrictions or asking permissions.” Until
cultural works from the past become useable, she, like Golan,
will continue to fight for a proper balance between copyright and
trade—case-by-case, one query at a time.
21
FA C U LT Y P U B L I C AT I O N S , P R E S E N TAT I O N S & H O N O R S
MEDIA STORM HITS HOME
N F L L O C KO U T 1 0 1
WITH GABE FELDMAN
Gabe Feldman says his work as a media analyst fits
By Nick Marinello, Tulane University Publications
sports law professor and a sports law student.”
T
he NFL lockout, which finally
ended on July 25, lasted 135
days. For Gabe Feldman it may
have been the longest-running class he’s
ever had to teach. Feldman, an associate
professor of law and director of the
Sports Law Program at Tulane, has been
perhaps the most visible media analyst
offering clarity on the legal complexities
of the labor dispute.
Prominently featured as a regular
contributor on the NFL Network,
Feldman says that his work as an NFL
legal analyst has in many ways
nicely with his work in the classroom. “It all becomes
teaching material for me. It’s a great time to be a
complemented his work at Tulane
Law School.
“The legal issues raised by the NFL
labor battle are the exact issues I research
and teach at Tulane,” says Feldman, who
teaches courses in sports law, contracts,
antitrust and labor. “My role as an NFL
Network analyst allowed me to share my
work with a broader audience.”
Feldman also has been a go-to
source for a variety of other media
outlets, including the New York Times,
Washington Post and Wall Street Journal,
as well as a host of local television and
H E A D - T O - H E A D W I T H T H E G O - T O G U Y F O R S P O RT S L AW
How did you first become interested in sports law?
My interest in sports law stemmed from my desire to understand the structure and operation
of sports leagues. I quickly realized that virtually every aspect of professional sports is
shaped by some area of the law.
Did you play sports in your youth?
I played every sport I could growing up, none of them particularly well.
What’s your favorite sport?
I am a fan of all sports, but I follow college basketball and professional football most closely.
In your opinion, what are the most interesting jobs available to sports lawyers?
There are many interesting jobs available to sports lawyers—many people focus on general
counsel positions with teams and leagues, but there are great opportunities for sports lawyers
to work for sponsors and broadcast partners of sports leagues, athletics departments, as well
as with international sports organizations like the United States Olympic Committee.
What one thing do you think all fans should understand about the NFL lockout?
The NFL lockout and the NFL players’ attempt to block that lockout presented several very
difficult questions at the intersection of antitrust and labor law. And the NBA lockout and
subsequent labor battle will last much longer than the NFL battle.
What’s the best thing about teaching law?
The opportunity to write and teach about my passion—the intersection of sports and the law.
22
radio programs. The Times-Picayune
named him one of its 25 most influential
persons in South Louisiana sports and
Sports Illustrated included him in its
“Twitter 100” of essential online sources
for the magazine’s reporters and editors.
“It’s not quite Harvard Law Review,”
quips Feldman, “but it’s good publicity
for the school and the sports law
program, and it is an honor to be
recognized by local and national media.”
If his participation over the last few
months in covering the lockout has
taught Feldman anything, it’s the
enormous amount of time and resources
that go into reporting on stories of this
size and nature.
“It gave me great insight into the
sports media world and how hard all
of the people involved in the sports
media industry have to work to cover
a complicated story like the lockout,”
says Feldman.
Now that the lockout is over, Feldman
hardly has time to take a breath. Asked
if he expects to have a role in covering
the current NBA lockout, he says, “Yes,
and it has already started. The NBA
lockout will be a much bumpier road
than the NFL lockout.”
Stay tuned.
A two-part Legal Analysis
of the Issues Behind the NFL
Collective Bargaining Agreement Negotiations can be
found on Gabe Feldman’s
biography page posted on the
Tulane Law School website.
D AV I S , H O U C K H E L P T O C L E A R U P M U D D Y WAT E R S
W
FA L L 2 0 1 1 T U L A NE L AW Y E R
“If we allow [space] along big rivers and along hurricanehen the Mississippi River crested in New Orleans in
vulnerable coasts, it is a win-win. We don’t get hurt—we still enjoy
late May, it rose to within three feet of the 20-foot
the riverine and coastal resources,” the Washington Post quoted
barrier provided by levees in the city. And while New
Houck as saying (“In Louisiana, a choice between two floods,” May
Orleanians fished, picnicked, and danced on the levees, the nation
2011). “There remains a lot of money to be made in building in
held its breath, waiting to see if the damage done to towns upstream
risky places…particularly when the government provides you with
would wash into the city. Fortunately, the river’s waters subsided
levees, pumps, flood insurance, and disaster relief. In effect, we are
without overflowing the levees—but not without stirring up substansubsidizing disasters.”
tial media interest.
Davis continued the argument, emphasizing that bringing the
Law Professor Oliver Houck and Mark Davis, senior research
river back into the landscape in a controlled fashion can nourish the
fellow and director of the Tulane Institute for Water Resources Law
swamps and marshland, which serve as barriers. Flourishing swamps
and Policy, both stepped into the limelight time and again to discuss
in turn protect areas like New Orleans.
the delicate balance of life on the banks of the Mississippi. Their
comments appeared in national news
outlets including CNN and NPR, USA
Professors Oliver Houck
Today and the Washington Post, Los
(left) and Mark Davis were
Angeles Times and the Seattle Times,
the sole “Educators” honas well as local radio, television, and
ored by New Orleans
print media.
CityBusiness this year in
Over those weeks, the school’s
the magazine’s annual
“Leadership in Law”
experts drew national attention to the
issue. For more on this
perilous nature of living at the end of
recognition, see page 48.
the Mississippi. While the media were
interested in the current flood, Davis
took the opportunity to highlight a secW H E N M O T H E R N AT U R E C A L L S , H O U C K A N D D AV I S A N S W E R
ond flood—the coastal flooding that
imperils Louisiana residents.
“Coastal Louisiana was built by the
In an interview with local radio talk show host Spud McConnell,
Mississippi River over the last 7,000 years. And ever since we took
WWL, Davis pointed out the obvious—that no one can make the
the river out of that landscape, we’ve watched it disappearing,”
water go away. He says the real question, therefore, is where to
Davis said in an interview with CNN Anchor Don Lemon (May 14,
direct the water and how quickly to do it.
2011). “And really over the last 100 years we’ve lost roughly 2,000
Davis’s argument is grounded in years of experience. Prior to
square miles of land. That’s a permanent flood.”
joining Tulane Law School in 2007, Davis served fourteen years
Periodic flooding has long been a concern in the area, but manas executive director of the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana,
made levees and related construction projects have altered the flow
where he helped shape programs and policies at the state and federal
of the water, forcing more coastal flooding as a consequence.
level to improve the stewardship of the wetlands and waters of
RISKY BUSINESS
coastal Louisiana.
Ultimately, change will come from appropriate policy decisions.
Indeed, while residents often are criticized for making a risky
Government response is a significant factor.
choice to live in the New Orleans area, it is the very impetus to
“The story yet to be told is whether Congress will react to all of
build close to the river that has increased the risk. Houck has long
this simply by throwing money at it, or, rather, by taking a larger
been involved with the Bonnet Carré spillway (just north of New
look at the Mississippi River, the coast, and the flood insurance proOrleans), one of only two pressure relief points along the lower
gram, and begin to do something different,” said Houck. “We need
Mississippi. In the 1970s and ’80s, Houck led a fight to prevent real
very big disasters for change to happen, particularly now when the
estate development in the spillway zone, arguing that settlement and
politics are so divided. This is a big event, but it is not a big disaster.
civilization along the area, which he says the corps designed to be
Thank God. And thank a capable floodway outlet system.”
flooded intentionally, would put further pressure on those in charge
For now, the waters of the Mississippi are contained in the levees,
of deciding if and when to open the flood gates.
but residents along the river and throughout the coastal plains
With the opening of the Morganza Spillway to prevent flooding
remain uncomfortably aware of their tentative détente with nature.
the city, Houck’s argument hit uncomfortably close to home.
23
FA C U LT Y P U B L I C AT I O N S , P R E S E N TAT I O N S & H O N O R S
ADDRESSING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
AT T H E W H I T E H O U S E
ania Tetlow, director of the Tulane Law School
Domestic Violence Clinic (DVC) and the FelderFayard Associate Professor of Law, joined Mayor
Mitch Landrieu at the White House in October 2010 for
a press conference on domestic violence policy. While in
DC, Tetlow had the opportunity to meet President Barack
Obama and Vice President Joe Biden as they commemorated Domestic Violence Awareness Month with the
announcement of new initiatives to end domestic violence.
Among the initiatives announced was the launch of
“Access to Justice for Domestic Violence Victims,” a pilot
project designed to encourage pro bono work on behalf of
domestic violence survivors. New Orleans and Baltimore
Professor Tania Tetlow
have been chosen as the first two cities to conduct the
welcomes the opportunity
program, which is being administered by the Department
to meet Vice President
of Justice.
Joe Biden while visiting
“Domestic violence survivors often find themselves
the White House for a
without any access to lawyers to help them legally untanpress conference on
gle themselves from violent relationships,” says Tetlow.
domestic violence.
“This program asks [law] firms to fund a stint for an
incoming associate at legal aid, doing domestic violence
work, using a law school clinic to help ensure that the
experience provides meaningful litigation training that
benefits the firm. Law firms are more likely to make the generous commitment of lending an associate to a legal services office if that young lawyer
returns with valuable litigation skills.”
Also present for the announcement were Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor
to the President and Chair of the White House Council on Women and Girls,
and former NY Yankees and LA Dodgers baseball manager Joe Torre,
founder of the Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation.
“We are thrilled to be part of the new White House effort to encourage
pro bono work on behalf of domestic violence survivors, and to partner
with Adams and Reese,” exclaims Tetlow. “Both President Obama and
Vice President Biden (who authored the Violence Against Women Act as
a Senator) expressed their commitment to increasing pro bono services
so desperately needed to help women legally untangle themselves from
violent relationships.”
Tania Tetlow’s article, “Granting Prosecutors Rights to Combat Discrimination,” has been accepted for publication in the University of Pennsylvania
Journal of Constitutional Law. Her article, “Why Batson Misses the Point,”
has been accepted for publication, as well, as part of a symposium in the
Iowa Law Review.
T UL AN E L AWY E R FA L L 2 0 1 1
T
24
continued from page 20
Herbert V. Larson
was the recipient of the
“2010 Criminal Justice
Act Panel Attorney of
the Year,” presented by
the Louisiana Association of Criminal
Defense Lawyers in December 2010.
Shu-yi Oei’s article, “Getting More by
Asking Less: The Role of Stakeholder
Dynamics in Reforming Tax Law’s
Offer-in-Compromise
Procedure,” has been
accepted for publication in the University
of Pennsylvania
Law Review.
Vernon V. Palmer has published The
Frontier Between Contractual and
Tortious Liability in Europe: Insights
from the Case of Compensation for Pure
Economic Loss (with Mauro Bussani) in
Towards a European Civil Code (Arthur
S. Hartkamp et. al. eds., 4th ed., Wolters
Kluwer 2011). In addition, his review
of Niall R. Whitty & Reinhard Zimmermann’s book, Rights of Personality in
Scots Law: A Comparative Perspective,
was published in the Tulane European
and Civil Law Forum. Palmer’s most
recent presentations include the
following: “Empires
as Engines of Mixed
Laws in the Modern
World” at the Juris
Diversitas conference
on Mediterranean
Hybridity held in Malta
(June 2010); “Three
Milestones in the History of Privacy in
the United States” at the conference,
“Protection of Personality Rights:
Roman Foundations, Contemporary
Evolution and Challenges” (jointly
sponsored by Remin University, Beijing,
and East China University of Political
Science and Law, Shanghai) held in
Shanghai, China (October 2010); and
“The Great Spill in the Gulf…and a Sea
of Economic Loss” at the conference,
“Towards a Chinese Civil Code: Historical and Comparative Perspective”
(sponsored by Centre for Chinese and
Comparative Law) held in Hong Kong,
China (October 2010). Further, Palmer
was one of several renowned scholars
invited to present on “Louisiana Legal
History” at a two-day workshop held at
the University of Edinburgh Law School,
May 20–21, 2011.
understanding of the role of special
masters in U.S. courts.
Mark B. Wessman has published
Secured Transactions: Problems and
Materials (with Paul Barron) (2nd ed.,
West). In March
2011, he attended
“Contract as Promise
at 30: The Future of
Contract Theory,” a
conference at Suffolk
University Law
School in Boston
organized by former Tulane Law School
visitor Jeff Lipshaw. Wessman is visiting
at New York Law School this fall.
J U D G I N G G U L F C OA S T C L A I M S
onald J. Scalise Jr. (L ’00), the A. D. Freeman Professor of Civil Law
at Tulane University Law School, has been appointed to serve as one
of 25 Appeals Judges for the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF),
the organization responsible for handling claims filed by individuals and businesses for costs and damages resulting from the April 2010 oil spill disaster.
The announcement this past June culminated an intensive process by which
Jack M. Weiss, the Appointing Authority for GCCF Appeals Judges, identified
“distinguished members of the legal community…to serve as impartial
GCCF Appeals Judges.”
“The Appeals Judges selected are highly competent, respected, and experienced men and women from the Gulf states most affected by the Deepwater
Horizon oil spill,” said Weiss, who also serves as the Chancellor of the Louisiana
State University (LSU) Paul M. Hebert Law Center. “These outstanding professionals should be commended for their willingness to serve the citizens of our
region.” Weiss’s selections stem from Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and
Florida, and include retired federal or state judges, law school deans or professors, professional mediators or arbitrators.
A member of the Louisiana State Law Institute and a board member of the
American Society of Comparative Law, Scalise has written extensively on civil
law topics, particularly in the area of successions and inheritance. He currently is
editing a book on European contract law and has another in the works regarding
civil law of property.
In Louisiana alone, more than 214,580 people and businesses have filed
claims with the GCCF since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded. The claims
facility has paid out approximately $5.6 billion (at the time of print) across
the southern region.
R
FA L L 2 0 1 1 T UL A N E L AW Y E R
Edward F. Sherman has been busy
finalizing his many recent publications,
which include “Management Techniques
and Devises for Segmenting Aggregate
Litigation,” in A Practitioner’s Guide to
Class Actions (Marcy Greer, ed., ABA
Publications), and “Judicial Supervision
of Attorney Fees in Aggregate Litigation:
The American Vioxx Experience as
Example for Other Countries,” in
Common Law, Civil Law, and the Future
of Categories (Oscar Chase and Janet
Walker, eds., LexisNexis). Further, two
acclaimed law reviews recently published
articles by Sherman, including “Terrorist
Detainee Policies: Can the Constitutional
and International Law Principles of the
Supreme Court’s Boumediene Precedents
Survive Political Pressures?” in the
Tulane Journal of International and
Comparative Law (2010), and “Abandoned Claims in Class Actions: Implications for Preclusion and Adequacy of
Counsel,” as part of a symposium on
aggregate litigation in the George
Washington Law Review (2011).
Sherman gave a number of presentations during the 2010–11 academic year.
In October, he travelled to Chicago to
speak at the National Class Action Institute, ABA Section of Litigation, as well
as to Washington, DC, where he presented on preemption at a symposium
held at The George Washington University Law School. The spring semester
brought two additional presentations
from Sherman: one during a symposium
on the BP oil spill litigation at Mississippi College of Law in Jackson, and
another closer to home, where he presented “Arbitration Law in Flux and
Maritime Implications” at the Tulane
Admiralty Law Institute in New Orleans.
In January, Sherman was honored
at the annual meeting of court special
masters in New Orleans. The Academy
of Court-Appointed Masters (ACAM),
com-posed of judges and lawyers who
have served as Special Masters, awarded
Sherman with the 2011 Francis
McGovern Writing Award, given for
contributions to the development and
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RECESS FOR REFLECTION
“ E V E N T U A L LY, A L L T H I N G S M E R G E I N T O
O N E , A N D A R I V E R R U N S T H R O U G H I T. ”
—Norman Fitzroy Maclean
A LU M N I MAK I N G T H E I R MAR K
✶
L I F E A F T E R T U L A N E LAW S C H O O L
B Y M A RY M O U T O N ( L ’ 9 0 ) A N D L A U R E N G AV I O L I
T H E N A N D N O W, T U L A N E L AW Y E R S A R E A U N I Q U E B R E E D . T H E Y L O V E
G O O D F O O D , G O O D C O M PA N Y — A N D F I G H T I N G T H E G O O D F I G H T . T H O U G H
T U L A NE L AWY E R FA LL 2 0 1 1
L I F E A F T E R T U L A N E L AW S C H O O L VA R I E S F O R E V E RY O N E , T U L A N E A L U M N I
28
C O N S I S T E N T LY G O O N T O M A K E T H E I R M A R K O N T H E W O R L D . F R O M T H E
S T R E E T S O F N E W O R L E A N S A N D O V E R S E A S , T H R O U G H H A L C Y O N D AY S
A N D H I S T O R I C D I S A S T E R S , T U L A N E L AW A L U M S H AV E P U S H E D T H E
B O U N D A R I E S O F J U S T I C E . T H E F O L L O W I N G C O M P I L AT I O N C E L E B R AT E S T H E
T R I U M P H S O F O N LY A H A N D F U L O F L AW G R A D U AT E S , Y E T I T R E P R E S E N T S
T H E S P I R I T O F A L L W H O C A L L T U L A N E L AW S C H O O L T H E I R “ H O M E .”
✶ BUDDY CALDWELL (L ’73), Attorney General
of Louisiana. ✶ Tulane Law School alumni who have
A G A L A X Y O F S TA R S
1961
was a time of change in America. John F. Kennedy became
the 35th President of the United States just as the cold war
with Russia was heating up. Communism was on the rise
in Cuba and the U.S. effort to overthrow Fidel Castro failed. The nation embarked on an
ambitious space program and entered the Vietnam conflict.
Here in New Orleans, Tulane stadium towered over Willow Street. Tulane Law School
was located in Tilton Hall on St. Charles Avenue, and the class of 1961 was one of its
largest ever, consisting of more than 100 students, including four women. At that time,
the university was segregated, not admitting black students until two years later.
The Jambalaya yearbook summed up the law school activities that year: “all constitute a mixture of academic and recreational activities that go toward developing the
whole lawyer and the whole man.” The formula seems to have been a successful one.
Fifty years later, members of the law class of 1961 have led distinguished legal careers,
practicing at the top of their fields, many in the public sector.
Fifteen members of the class have held judgeships on the local, state, and federal
levels. “The stars fell on the class of 1961, not only because of the number of judges but
other achievements,” said Jacques L. Wiener Jr., who ascended to the level of a senior
judge after 20 years at the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Harry Connick Sr. spent 29 years fighting crime as the Orleans Parish District
Attorney. And the late John J. Hainkel Jr. was the only person in Louisiana and United
States history to have been elected to lead both chambers of a state legislature, as speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives and also president of the state Senate.
The class had its share of academics as well. Joseph H. Lawson is currently an
emeritus professor of law at Loyola Law School; Wayne S. Woody taught at Tulane Law
School and managed University College for many years. James E. Wessner taught as a
professor at the University of Virginia Law School and served as general counsel for the
University of Cincinnati. Charles Ferguson never practiced law and instead served as
editor of The Times-Picayune for 10 years. He was named a Nieman Fellow at Harvard
University. Phil Wittmann took every accounting course he could while an undergrad
at Tulane only to transition into a litigation practice at the law firm of Stone Pigman
Walther Wittmann where he has practiced for the last 50 years. Wittmann has been recognized repeatedly as one of the leading trial lawyers in the state of Louisiana, as well
as on the national level.
Louisiana’s civil law was the only curriculum taught in those days; there was no place
for the common law curriculum. The faculty was comprised of some of Louisiana’s foremost authorities including Wood Brown Jr. (successions and donations), Ray Forrester
(constitutional law), Clarence Morrow (criminal law), Leonard Oppenheim (property),
and Ferd Stone (torts). One newcomer to the faculty was Professor Hoffman Fuller
(federal taxation), who taught at Tulane for 51 years before retiring in 2007.
However, “everybody’s most memorable professor had to be Mitchell Franklin,”
Judge Wiener recalls. “He taught for decades at Tulane, served as legal advisor at the
Nuremburg trials and was the quintessential practitioner of the Socratic method. He was
a true character in every sense but an outstanding law professor.”
“Tuition was a bargain,” the crime-fighting Harry Connick recalls. “It was something
like $900 a year.” He and his wife, the late Anita Connick, ran a record store while he
was in law school. Anita then earned her law degree and became one of New Orleans’
first female judges.
F. A. “Pappy” Little Jr., who was appointed to the United States District Court for the
Western District of Louisiana by President Reagan in 1984 and served for 22 years,
been U.S. senators from Louisiana: ROBERT F.
BROUSSARD (1915–16), HUEY P. LONG (1932–
35), JOHN H. OVERTON (1933–1948), ALLEN J.
ELLENDAR (1937–72), and DAVID VITTER
(2005–present). ✶ (THOMAS) HALE BOGGS
(L ’37) serves in Congress in 1941–43 and 1947–72.
✶ JOHN BAILEY (L ’81), Secretary of State,
Republic of Panama. ✶ JUDGE JOHN MINOR
WISDOM (L ’29) of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals plays a leading role in four landmark
decisions in the 1960s that lead to desegregation of
public schools and advancement of civil rights and
economic justice. Wisdom receives the Medal of
Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in 1993.
✶ ALEXI GIANNOULIAS (L ’03), Illinois State
Treasurer. ✶ KENNETH McCLINTOCK (L ’80),
Secretary of State, Puerto Rico. ✶ JONATHAN
HENSLEIGH (L ’85), writer of Die Hard: With a
Vengeance (1995), Jumanji (1995), and Armageddon
(1998). ✶ JANET WOODKA (L ’92) is named
the federal coordinator for Gulf Coast recovery
and rebuilding in March 2009. ✶ High-ranking
judges among Law School alumni are: JUSTICE
ELIZABETH WEAVER (L ’65) of the Michigan
Supreme Court since 1994; JUDGE EDITH BROWN
CLEMENT (L ’72) of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals since 2001; and JUDGE WILLIAM H.
PRYOR (L ’87) of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals since 2004. ✶ TODD SCHULER, Maryland
State Delegate, current (D), STACEY MITCHELL
(L ’94) is chief of the Environmental Crimes Section
at the U.S. Department of Justice. She is involved
with U.S. Coast Guard efforts to detect, deter and
prosecute those who illegally discharge pollutants
from ships into the oceans, coastal waters and inland
waterways. ✶ BOB LIVINGSTON (L ’68) serves
in the U.S. Congress (1977–99). ✶ ROBERTA
SHAFFER (L ’80) is appointed Law Librarian of
Congress in August 2009. ✶ Two law alumni have
served as chief of protocol for the United States:
JOHN GIFFEN WEINMANN (L ’52) for President
George H.W. Bush and DONALD ENSENAT (L ’73)
for President George W. Bush. Both also are U.S.
Ambassadors: Weinmann to Finland and Ensenat to
Brunei. ✶ TERRY O’NEILL (L ’80) is the president
of the National Organization for Women (NOW). ✶
ROBERT M. HARLING III (L ’77) writes the
off-Broadway hit Steel Magnolias as well as the
screenplay for the film version shot in Harling’s
hometown, Natchitoches, La., in 1989. ✶ HEATHER
McTEER-HUDSON (L ’01) is elected the first
female, first African American and youngest mayor
of Greenville, Miss., in 2003. ✶ JIM GARRISON
(L ’49), New Orleans District Attorney (D), was best
known for his investigations on the John F. Kennedy
assassination and subject of the Oliver Stone movie,
JFK (played by Kevin Costner). ✶ Considered the
greatest chess player of his era and unofficial World
Chess Champion, PAUL MORPHY receives a law
degree in 1857, memorizing the entire Louisiana
Civil Code. ✶ VICTORIA REGGIE KENNEDY
(L ’79), wife of the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy,
cofounded Common Sense About Kids and Guns. ✶
✶
remembers going to classes on Saturdays, a
law school rite of passage that has since been
retired. “Nearly everyone smoked. Everyone
took copious notes. [There were] no
computers. Some, such as I, rented typewriters
and tables to take exams in the library stacks,”
he says. Little made it a point to hire law clerks
from Tulane Law School, employing 15
Tulanians while he served on the bench. He found Tulane
graduates well prepared, always possessing a good sense of
“ T H E S TA R S F E L L O N T H E C L A S S O F 1 9 6 1 , N O T O N LY
B E C AU S E O F T H E N U M B E R O F J U D G E S B U T OT H E R
A C H I E V E M E N T S.” — T H E H O N. JA C Q U E S L. W I E N E R J R.
humor and, not surprisingly, “a desire for good food,” he says.
Things have changed for today’s young attorneys, says
Phil Wittmann. “Electronic wizardry” makes the practice of
law more difficult. “In the old days, you could take a day
to consider a response,” he says. “Now you’re expected to
respond in seconds. It’s very wearing on young lawyers who
haven’t disciplined themselves to ignore emails and set aside
some time to get their work done.”
“The class [of ’61] hailed from states throughout the
nation and many foreign countries,” states Judge Little. “The
interaction with other non-Louisiana residents was a real
plus. Those relationships survive to this day. The fondness for
the lasting impression of an education at Tulane Law School
is evidenced by the contributions to the school fund by the
members of the class.”
In 2004, musician-actor Harry Connick Jr. honored his
parents by establishing a Tulane Law School scholarship
in their names. In addition, members of the class of 1961
have funded a separate scholarship to recognize the fiftieth
anniversary of their graduation. Collectively, the class has
pledged nearly $300,000 to date. ■
T H E N A N D N OW
T U L A NE L AWY E R FA LL 2 0 1 1
Above: Tulane Law Review Board of Student Editors,
Spring 1961. Standing, l to r, Wood Brown III,
Jacques L. Wiener Jr., Joseph H. Lawson, Phillip A.
Wittmann, and José Menalco Solis-Rivas. Seated,
l to r, John J. Hainkel Jr., Professor “Pan” Zeppos (of
Greece), Wayne S. Woody, and Frederick S. Kullman.
30
Below right: Celebrating the 50th
anniversary of their graduation are
1961 class members, l to r, Thomas
Shelton, the Hon. Jacob Karno,
Maumus Claverie Jr., the Hon.
Clarence McManus, the Hon.
Robert Robertson, the Hon.
Kenneth Boagni, C. Allen Hennesy,
William Forman Jr., the Hon. F. A.
“Pappy” Little Jr., Bill
Meriwether Jr. (seated),
J. Dwight LeBlanc Jr., the
Hon. Jacques Wiener Jr.,
Phil Wittmann (seated),
who hosted the event at
his home in Lakeview, C.
King Mallory, Edward
Feinman Jr. (kneeling),
and Lawrence Ernst.
It cost 4 cents to mail a letter and 57 cents for a carton of eggs. A gallon of gas
was 25 cents and a new car set you back about $2,275. The Dow Jones Industrial
Average rose to a high of 691 and the median family income was $5,700 per year.
A year’s tuition at Tulane was $1,090.
Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. A band
of four lads from Liverpool, England, called the Beatles performed for the first
time at the Cavern Club. At Carnival in New Orleans, Pete Fountain founded the
Half Fast Walking Club, an immediate hit with parade-goers.
President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps and announced to
Congress his goal to put a man on the moon before the end of the decade. And
103 newly commenced Tulane lawyers set out to make their mark across the globe.
The year was 1961.
But that was then. This is now.
Based on correspondence from members of the
Tulane law class of 1961, a partial list of their
accomplishments follows.
FA LL 2 0 1 1 T U L AN E L AW Y E R
Pictured L to R, First Row
RICHARD ADKINS
STANLEY P. BABIN
CHARLES F. BOAGNI III
THE HON. KENNETH BOAGNI JR., Opelousas, La.;
City Judge of Opelousas and Ward One of St. Landry Parish
(1972–2008); former president, Louisiana City Judges’
Association, Louisiana Juvenile Judges’ Association
Second Row
WOOD BROWN III (d. May 11, 2006); lifetime member,
American Law Institute; president, Louisiana State Bar
Association
ALLEN H. COON
HARRY F. CONNICK SR., New Orleans, La.; District
Attorney, Orleans Parish (1974–2003); recipient, “Directors
Award of Distinguished Service,” on behalf of the Office of
National Drug Control Policy for his fight against illegal
drugs (2002)
PAUL G. CREED
Third Row
J. MARTIN CROSBY
WILLIAM M. DARLINGTON
HERBERT H. DUNCAN JR.
EDWARD M. FEINMAN JR.
Fourth Row
WILLIAM H. FORMAN JR., New Orleans, La.; author,
“The Case Against Torture,” in The Officer (Reserve Officers
Association of the United States) (July–Aug. 2007)
pp.47–50; author, “Are Louisiana Judicial Death Warrants
Constitutional?” in Louisiana Bar Journal, Vol. 31, No. 11
(June 1983) pp.17–20 and 52
GEORGE F. FOX JR., Lake Providence, La.; member,
Louisiana State House of Representatives; Assistant District
Attorney; Town Attorney; Town Magistrate
WILLIAM J. FRAZER
BURNELL S. GOODRICH
Fifth Row
JOHN J. HAINKEL JR. (d. April 15, 2005); speaker,
Louisiana House of Representatives; president, Louisiana
State Senate
JOHN H. HAMMEL III
FREDRIC G. HAYES
C. ALLEN HENNESY
Sixth Row
THE HON. JACOB L. KARNO, Metairie, La.; judge, 24th
Judicial District Court (Jefferson Parish)
THOMAS A. KEHOE SR.
KARL J. KIRCHBERG
SIDNEY PIERRE LANDRY JR.
Seventh Row
J. DWIGHT LEBLANC JR., New Orleans, La.; managing
partner, Chaffe, McCall, Phillips, Toler & Sarpy; fellow,
American College of Trial Lawyers; member, Maritime Law
Association of the United States Board of Directors
THE HON. WALLACE C. LEBRUN (d. April 7, 1989);
judge, 24th Judicial District Court (Jefferson Parish)
BYRON P. LEGENDRE
THE HON. F. A. “PAPPY” LITTLE JR., Alexandria, La.;
Chief Judge, Western District of Louisiana, United States
District Court (6 years); Chief Judge, Coushatta Indian
National Tribal Court; fellow, American College of Trust
and Estate Counsel
31
T U L A NE L AWY E R FA LL 2 0 1 1
Pictured L to R, First Row
THOMAS S. LOOP
NESTOR MARQUEZ-DIAZ
THE HON. CLARENCE E. McMANUS, Gretna, La.;
judge, Louisiana Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal (–Dec. 31,
2012); judge, 24th Judicial District Court (Jefferson
Parish, 18 years); prosecutor, District Attorney’s Office
(Jefferson Parish, 13 years)
RICHARD E. MEDEN
Second Row
KELLY E. MILLER
BAILEY POWELL
THE HON. ROBERT S. ROBERTSON, Morgan City,
La.; judge, City Court of Morgan City, Louisiana
THE HON. EDMOND C. SALASSI, New Orleans, La.;
Administrative Law Judge, Office of Hearings & Appeals
Third Row
JOHN T. “BUD” SEALE (d. Dec. 17, 2008); District
Attorney, 6th Judicial District, Ouachita Parish; Chief
Disciplinary Council, Louisiana State Bar Association
THOMAS R. SHELTON
JOHN ROGERS SIMMONS JR.
ALVIN S. TRANSEAU, Phoenix, Ariz.; Captain, Judge
Advocate General’s Corps., United States Navy
Fourth Row
JORGE L. VALDIVIESO JR.
DONALD P. WEISS (d. June 20, 2010); fellow,
American College of Trust and Estate Counsel; chairman,
Louisiana State Bar Association (tax section)
THE HON. JACK B. WELDY, Lumberton, Miss.; judge,
Mississippi Court of Appeal; magistrate, Mississippi
Supreme Court
JAMES E. WESNER, Cincinnati, Ohio; General
Counsel, University of Cincinnati (20 years)
Fifth Row
THE HON. JACQUES L. WIENER JR., New Orleans,
La.; judge, United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth
Circuit (1990–assumed senior status Sept. 30, 2010);
fellow, American College of Trust and Estate Counsel;
president, Shreveport Bar Association
DEAN WAYNE S. WOODY, Baton Rouge, La.; emeritus
professor of law, dean, University of California, Hastings
College of the Law
RICHARD L. YARBROUGH
JAMES C. YOUNG
32
Not Pictured
THE HON. REULE P. BOURQUE, Kaplan, La.; judge, City of Kaplan
THE HON. MAUMUS F. “TEEMO” CLAVERIE JR., New Orleans, La.;
Administrative Judge
THE HON. WALLACE A. EDWARDS, (d. February 19, 2005); judge,
Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal; judge, 22nd Judicial District
Court; Appellate Court Judge (1976–1994); president, Louisiana District
Judges Association
CHARLES A. FERGUSON JR., New Orleans, La.; editor, The TimesPicayune (1980-1990); editor, The States-Item; Nieman Fellow, Harvard
University; member, Nieman Advisory Board at Harvard (est.
2004–2010); chair, Dillard University Board of Trustees (13 years)
THE HON. THOMAS L. GIRAUD, (d. May 16, 1998); judge, 24th
Judicial District Court (Jefferson Parish)
PROF. JOSEPH H. LAWSON, New Orleans, La.; Emeritus Professor of
Law, Loyola Law School
JAMES W. MOORE, Tupelo, Miss.; managing partner, department head
(Labor, Health and Employment Law Department), Eldredge & Clark
(Little Rock); initiated a pre-law curriculum and taught at The Virginia
Military Institute, Lexington, Va.
THE HON. BERNARD B. NACHMAN, Jacksonville, Fla.; judge, Duval
County Courthouse
GEORG A. POTYKA (LLM), Maria Enzersdorf, Austria; Austrian
ambassador to Iraq (1984–1987) and Bulgaria (1998-2002); head, department of international environmental policy, Austrian Ministry for Foreign
Affairs; author, Rechtsetzung und Entscheidung im Völkerrecht (English
Summary: Law Making and Decision Making in International Law),
Vienna, Austria, 2000; author, A Life’s Wager (Ariadne Press, Riverside,
CA, 2004, translated from German Lebenswette, Vienna, Austria, 1995)
THE HON. ERNEST V. RICHARDS IV, Gretna, La.; judge, 24th Judicial
District Court (Jefferson Parish)
J. MENALCO SOLIS-RIVAS, Panama, Panama; Secretary General, OAS;
Secretary of State, Republic of Panama
JEAN E. VAN SLATE, Charleston, S.C.; Social Security Administrator,
Office of Hearings & Appeals
PHILLIP A. WITTMANN, New Orleans, La.; officer, United States
Marine Corps (1957–1960); recipient, American Inn of Court
Professionalism Award for the Fifth Circuit (2005); managing partner,
Stone, Pigman, Walther and Wittmann, LLC; member, Civil Rules
Advisory Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States;
member, House of Delegates of the American Bar Association; president,
New Orleans Bar Association; fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers,
American Academy of Appellate Lawyers, International Society
of Barristers
P RO F I L E S I N
PERSEVERANCE
By its very nature, the practice of law can test the limits of
a practitioner’s energies. There are those cases that are so
demanding and difficult, they redefine the term “zealous
advocate.” The following Tulane Law School alumni overcame high hurdles and never gave up in their representation
of clients involved in historic and controversial cases.
✶T
T H E I N D I A N S’ L AW Y E R
he rich cultural and artistic heritage of New Orleans
had gone largely unrepresented, until Tulane alumna
Ashlye Keaton (L ’03) secured the first copyright for
Mardi Gras Indian suits.
Since the mid-19th century, African Americans in New Orleans
have “masked” as Indians, debuting intricately hand-beaded and
feathered creations, the product of thousands of hours of sewing and
significant investment in the colorful feathers. The unique work and
culture of the Mardi Gras Indians have been the subject of photographs and films for decades. But while professionals were profiting from works featuring the costumes, the Indians rarely were paid.
They had little opportunity to share in the profits
that others were earning.
Until now.
The copyright earned for the Indians by Keaton
will go a long way toward preserving the art form
for generations to come.
T H E U N I QU E WO R K
A N D C U LT U R E O F
MARDI GRAS INDIANS
H AV E B E E N T H E
SUBJECT OF FILMS
AND PHOTOGRAPHS
FOR DECADES.
“I was approached by some Indians who wanted copyright protection,” Keaton said. “The suits are copyrightable because, first of
all, they are not functional and separate, and apart from the human
wearing it, it’s worn over the clothing and therefore copyrightable
as sculpture and second artwork.”
It takes an Indian an entire year to sew a suit using feathers and
beads that can cost thousands of dollars. Each one is unique to the
individual wearing it.
Keaton has not had to enforce the copyright since it was granted
in April 2010. She says professional photographers and artists are
aware of the protection now. Additionally, more and more Indians
are reaching out to her for help protecting their work. With the help
of Tulane law students, Keaton is assembling a database for copyright registration of more suits.
Keaton believes the copyright has empowered the Indians by
providing an added incentive to engage in their culture.
“It helps to keep this culture alive as opposed to some of the
alternative measures that have been employed by other entities that
have resulted in suppressing the culture,” she explains.
Keaton is a supervising attorney at Entertainment Law Legal
Assistance (ELLA), an initiative of Tulane Law School’s pro bono
program, the Tipitina’s Foundation, and the Arts Council of New
Orleans. Since it started in 2005, Tulane law students have contributed more than 10,000 hours working on entertainment law
issues for low- to moderate-income artists and musicians in the New
Orleans area. More than 650 clients have been served, with a case
resolution rate of nearly 95 percent.
Though other entertainment law resources exist in the U.S.,
Keaton says ELLA is the only one that offers comprehensive legal
services for artists. “Most volunteer arts programs are referral-based
and match clients with lawyers in the private sector,” she says.
“ELLA actually provides the services with the help of students,
and I believe we provide those services faster than other nonprofit
legal arts programs.” ■
LEADING THE FIGHT
AG A I N S T D O M A
✶T
ulane-trained immigration lawyer Camiel Becker
(L ’04) is leading the fight to prevent the deportation
of illegal immigrants who are partners in same-sex
couples. His own inability to sponsor his partner into
the United States in 2001 fuels his passion for the work and his role
in one of the first cases to challenge federal law on this matter.
One month before Becker was to begin law school at Tulane in
2001, he and his Salvadoran partner, Uvaldo Rivas, involuntarily
parted ways in Central America. At the time, Becker never imagined
“IT SEEMS LIKE THE TIDE IS CHANGING IN THE
U . S . T O WA R D I N C L U S I O N , T O WA R D E Q U A L I T Y,
T U L A NE L AWY E R FA LL 2 0 1 1
T O WA R D H U M A N . ” — P E T E R G E E
34
anything positive would stem from their forced break-up. It wasn’t
until 2010, when a San Francisco news outlet published an essay by
Becker stressing his frustration with the U.S. government’s position
on immigration reform and same-sex binational couples, that things
began to turn around.
“I like to think that my experience of having U.S. immigration
laws keep me from being with Uvaldo makes me a stronger advocate and a better immigration lawyer,” wrote Becker, referring to the
Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)-Section 3, which prevents one
spouse from sponsoring another of the same sex for residency in the
United States. “Nonetheless, discriminatory immigration laws force
an estimated 36,000 gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender couples
to face the same barrier Uvaldo and I faced in El Salvador. While
heterosexual U.S. citizens can sponsor their foreign national
fiancées or spouses for permanent residency, [lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender] citizens are prohibited from doing so.”
Filipino immigrant Raul Sinense and his husband, U.S. citizen
Peter Gee, read Becker’s ‘guest opinion’ just moments after Sinense
was placed in deportation proceedings. Although their marriage has
been legally valid in California since the couple wed in 2008, DOMA
made it impossible for Gee to sponsor Sinense for a green card.
At the time, Sinense had lived in the U.S. for 15 years. Much of
that time, he had work authorization based on a green card application filed by an employer. In 2009, however, this application was
denied, and Sinense was placed into deportation proceedings.
“If he were heterosexual, Sinense would have been eligible for
a green card and could have used that application to avoid deportation,” Becker explains. “But since his valid same-sex marriage
license wasn’t recognized under
federal law, Gee figured there was
Married couple Raul
nothing he could do to keep him
Sinense, left, and Peter
in the country.”
Gee, center, are seen
After contacting dozens of
here with Camiel Becker
lawyers, the couple selected Tulane
at a friend’s wedding in
lawyer Camiel Becker to help them.
Oakland, Calif., in August
In court, Becker filed applica2011. The couple are one
tions for which only “spouses” of
of the first in the nation to
U.S. citizens are eligible and argued
benefit from a new Obama
that the Constitution requires that
administration deportation
Sinense’s marriage license be recogpolicy that directs imminized under U.S. immigration law.
gration officers to use disBecker was able to prevent Sinense’s
cretion in choosing whom
removal for approximately 17
to deport, giving priority to
months, with his client appearing in
criminals and not people
immigration court numerous times
with strong family ties.
to request that the judge not issue
Sinense, a Filipino nationa removal order.
al, has lived in the U.S. for
Almost a year after Becker took
15 years but was placed
on the couple’s case, the Justice
on deportation proceedings
Department announced it would
in 2009.
stop defending DOMA, because it
considered the act unconstitutional.
According to Becker, “At that point,
I felt there was no way I was going to let Raul be deported. I just
wasn’t going to let that happen.”
He was correct. Earlier this summer (2011), the Obama administration enacted a new policy ordering immigration officials to
reconsider deporting illegal immigrants who have strong community
and family ties. Using the new policy memorandum, Becker convinced Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) attorneys and
a San Francisco judge to agree to close deportation proceedings
against Sinense until the constitutionality of DOMA is determined.
The act currently is being challenged in several court cases, and
legislation to repeal it is pending in Congress.
“In a nutshell,” says Becker, “the case is one of the very first
in the nation in which an immigration judge has administratively
closed deportation proceedings against an immigrant with a valid
same-sex marriage license.”
Within two days following Sinense’s exoneration, White House officials
and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano issued a letter to the
U.S. Senate calling for a case-by-case review on each of the nation’s more
than 300,000 pending deportations to determine which cases to pursue and
which to ignore based on family relationships, criminal history, and other
factors. The White House also made clear, for the first time, that same-sex
marriages would be treated as a family tie. Becker expects that these new
announcements will help stop deportations against other same-sex spouses until the courts repeal DOMA or ultimately find it unconstitutional.
While Sinense’s case is not decisively terminated—rather on indefinite
hold—it allows Sinense to reapply for a work permit, and he and Gee
won’t be separated.
FA I R T R I A L F O R A L L
S EPTEMBER 11, 2001 . It was an attack
that exposed gaping weaknesses in national security,
leaving citizens with a feeling of vulnerability that
little could soothe.
Ten years later, six defendants being charged in
the attack on the Twin Towers of the World Trade
Center remain in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp,
as Denise “Denny” LeBoeuf (L ’88) struggles to defend their
right to a fair trial. Her cause is a controversial commitment.
While LeBoeuf continues to speak with families of 9/11 victims
who she reports agree there should be a fair and transparent hearing
about what happened that day, she often encounters people who argue
that the defendants don’t deserve trial in federal court because “those
rights are for citizens.”
The director of the American Civil Liberties Union John Adams
Project, which assists military attorneys defending capitally charged
Guantanamo detainees, LeBoeuf contests, “This is the best justice
system in the world, and if we’re so proud of it, why are we afraid to
give these guys every benefit of that system? If it’s not presented in
an adversarial proceeding, it’s not fair. Period.”
In her efforts to supplement the meager resources of the military
defense attorneys assigned to represent the six men, LeBoeuf coordinated the recruitment of lawyers, whose assignment to cases she oversaw,
and travelled to Guantanamo to observe the capital case proceedings.
“The entire might of the American investigative and prosecutorial
arm was against these guys,” LeBoeuf says as she recites a litany of
prosecutorial weapons from the FBI, CIA, and military intelligence
agents. “They spared no expense in the prosecution. These guys were
seized in 2002 and 2003 and several asked for lawyers, and they were
held and tortured for years without attorneys.”
Some have cast the work of the John Adams Project as treasonous.
In response, LeBoeuf recounts what John Adams said about his own
defense of British soldiers charged with the Boston massacre. “He said
it was the greatest service he ever rendered his country,” LeBoeuf says.
✶
“This is a really pivotal case,” Gee said. “It seems like the tide is
changing in the U.S. toward inclusion, toward equality, toward human.”
At the time of press, Sinense and Gee comprised one of just three gay
couples nationwide to benefit from the new Obama administration policy
that instructs immigration officials to reconsider deporting illegal immigrants who have strong community and family ties. Tulane law graduate
Camiel Becker is an immigration lawyer in San Francisco. As a U.S.
Fulbright scholar, he conducted post-graduate research on gangs and
street children in El Salvador. ■
“That’s a pretty high comment about what it means to be a defense
lawyer for someone charged with terrible crimes against the U.S.”
Ultimately, Congress recognized that the military defense
attorneys appointed to defend the 9/11 codefendants lacked the
resources necessary to mount a defense. Several John Adams
personnel were appointed by the military commission and are
working now as part of the defendants’ military team.
Over the last three years, hearings and appeals wrestled with the
issue of where to try the defendants. The most recent ruling held
they be tried before a military commission tribunal in Guantanamo,
where the defendants remain today. ■
Denny LeBoeuf, second from right, with students at a conference in Lahore,
Pakistan, where she was teaching at the request of the Pakistan Justice Project.
“T H I S I S T H E B E S T J U S T I C E S Y S T E M I N T H E
W O R L D , A N D I F W E ’ R E S O P R O U D O F I T, W H Y
A R E W E A F R A I D T O G I V E T H E S E G U Y S E V E RY
B E N E F I T O F T H AT S Y S T E M ? ” — D E N N Y L E B O E U F
35
T R I A L A D TA G T E A M
TRIAL ADVOCACY is a rite of passage for Tulane Law School
seniors who want to become litigators, as well as those who initially do
not. Limited to approximately 100 students who are divided into groups
of 10 or 12, the Trial Ad course helps students to develop courtroom
skills such as direct and cross-examination, introduction of documents,
work with expert testimony, and opening and closing statements.
For approximately 30 years, alumni James Cobb and Julian Murray
have prepared students for the courtroom, from opening to closing arguments. Cobb has taught 27 years and is currently director of the program,
taking over the reins from Murray, who has been with the program since
its inception 35 years ago.
“Some students will take the class with no intention of becoming
a trial lawyer, and then they decide it’s what they want to do. Others
decide it’s not what they want to do,” says Cobb, who over the years has
received letters from students thanking him for his help. “It changes their
focus and direction.”
“Most of my Thursdays in the spring semester go to Tulane,” says
Murray, who also teaches Advanced Criminal Practice that same day.
The evening course requires the help of 25 practitioners and judges
who evaluate students. The one-on-one attention is invaluable, and it is
rooted in Cobb’s and Murray’s own experiences fighting for justice on
behalf of their clients.
“T H E R E W E R E 3 5 D E A D P E O P L E W H O S E FA M I LY
The wall of a resident’s bedroom shows where the water line reached,
midway to the clock, at St. Rita’s Nursing Home where more than 30
dead bodies were found nearly two weeks after Hurricane Katrina.
M E M B E R S W E R E FA C I N G T H E R E A L I T Y T H AT
T H E I R M O T H E R S , FAT H E R S , G R A N D M O T H E R S ,
S H E LT E R F R O M T H E S T O R M
A N D G R A N D FAT H E R S D R O W N E D. I WA S N O T A
T U L A NE L AWY E R FA LL 2 0 1 1
P O P U L A R P E R S O N AT T H AT T I M E.” — J I M C O B B
36
T
✶
he tale of [L ’78] Jim Cobb’s healthcare law practice
has to be one of the most gut wrenching in a field full
of dramatic tales. The New Orleans attorney was displaced to Houston, Texas, after Hurricane Katrina
when the levees broke and his family’s home flooded. That loss
was bad enough, but it was subsumed by his involvement in the
widely publicized litigation over the deaths of 35 elderly residents
who drowned when a nursing home in St. Bernard Parish was
inundated by more than 10 feet of water in just 20 minutes.
Cobb defended the owners and operators of St. Rita’s nursing
home, Sal and Mable Mangano. Each was charged with 35 counts
of homicide and 24 counts of cruelty to the elderly and infirm due
to the experiences of surviving residents.
If convicted, the couple, both in their 60s, could have faced up
to 175 years in prison on the negligent homicide charges and up to
240 years in prison on the cruelty charges.
Cobb tallies it up.
“That’s a 118 count indictment. You have no idea [what it was
like],” he says. “I did it as a Katrina victim—I represented the
Manganos out of a hotel room.”
Public opinion was squarely against them. Cobb was successful in
having the venue moved to St. Francisville, La., about 100 miles away.
“There were 35 dead people whose family members were facing the
reality that their mothers, fathers, grandmothers, and grandfathers
drowned. They felt hurt and guilty that they didn’t get them to safety.
They transposed that guilt on the Manganos. I was not a popular person
at that time,” says Cobb.
He argued that the Manganos were being used as scapegoats for the
government’s failure to protect its citizens from the collapse of the levees, which failed under the weight of a massive storm surge, and for the
government officials who failed to order a mandatory evacuation. Cobb
recalls it as “a multiple, systemic failure at all levels of government.”
“It was incredibly unfair to take the government’s failure and put it
on the backs of two caregivers in St. Bernard,” he recalls four years later.
The jury agreed, unanimously finding the couple not guilty after
four hours of deliberation. ■
✶
W
A L A B O R O F L AW
hen Julian Murray Jr. (L ’64) agreed to take on the
pro bono appeal of a convicted murderer, he never
imagined that five years later he would win the longestrunning criminal case ever tried in the United States.
Before Ginger Berrigan became a federal judge in the Eastern
District of Louisiana, she had represented Wilbert Rideau on and off
for 20 years. He had been tried three times and each time was convicted
and sentenced to death for the 1961 murder of a bank teller in Lake
Charles. Murray agreed to take over the case.
Advancement of Colored People’s legal defense fund agreed to serve
as co-counsel at trial.
“It was a racial issue,” Murray says. “No black person who ever
killed a white person in Calcasieu Parish ever got out of jail. It wasn’t
that he didn’t commit the crime, or that he didn’t deserve to be punished for it. It just wasn’t the heinous crime the prosecution played
it out to be.”
The jury had to decide whether the killing was murder or manslaughter. It chose manslaughter, which carried a 21-year sentence. Having
already served 23 years, Rideau walked out of court a free man.
Coincidence or Fate?
Murray recounts a story about Wilbert Rideau storing some items in his
garage. He reached for the lock he used to secure his personal effects
while in Angola. The combination was 01-15-05, the very date he was
freed: January 15, 2005. ■
Former death row inmate and awardwinning prison journalist Wilbert
Rideau was incarcerated in Louisiana
State Penitentiary (better known as
Angola Prison) for 44 years before a
jury found him guilty of manslaughter,
instead of murder, in a fourth trial.
Backed by a defense team comprised
of some of the country’s most eminent
lawyers, including famed New Orleans
defense attorney Julian Murray Jr.
(L ’64), Johnnie Cochran, and George
Kendall, Rideau was released in 2005.
“N O B L AC K P E R S O N W H O E V E R K I L L E D A
W H I T E P E R S O N I N C A L C A S I E U PA R I S H E V E R
G O T O U T O F J A I L.” — J U L I A N M U R R AY J R .
He picked up where Berrigan left off, asserting Rideau’s constitutional rights were violated because the grand jury that initially indicted him
excluded blacks.
A federal magistrate granted the motion and held that Rideau had to
be re-indicted or released. In 2005, after three years of motion practice,
Murray and his team were trying the case for the fourth time.
While a prisoner at Angola, Rideau was a model prisoner. He
became editor of the Angolite magazine and won numerous journalistic
awards. In 1993, Life Magazine proclaimed the death-row inmate “The
Most Rehabilitated Prisoner in America.”
To Murray’s surprise, the Calcasieu Parish District Attorney decided
to retry Rideau, who already had served more than 20 years in jail.
Attorney George Kendall of the National Association for the
JANET WOODKA (L ’92) is named the federal coordinator for Gulf Coast recovery and rebuilding in March 2009. ✶ High-ranking judges among
Law School alumni are: JUSTICE ELIZABETH WEAVER (L ’65) of the Michigan Supreme Court since 1994; JUDGE EDITH BROWN CLEMENT
(L ’72) of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals since 2001; and JUDGE WILLIAM H. PRYOR (L ’87) of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
since 2004. ✶ TODD SCHULER, Maryland State Delegate, current (D), STACEY MITCHELL (L ’94) is chief of the Environmental Crimes Section
at the U.S. Department of Justice. She is involved with U.S. Coast Guard efforts to detect, deter and prosecute those who illegally discharge
pollutants from ships into the oceans, coastal waters and inland waterways. ✶ BOB LIVINGSTON (L ’68) serves in the U.S. Congress (1977–99).
✶ ROBERTA SHAFFER (L ’80) is appointed Law Librarian of Congress in August 2009. ✶ Two law alumni have served as chief of protocol
A L M A M AT T E R S
C LAS S
NOTES
1954
Grove Stafford Jr., a retired attorney
with Stafford, Stewart and Potter, and the
former president of the Alexandria Bar
Association, has been reappointed to represent the 5th Congressional District and
will serve as a representative attorney, as
required by statute.
1966
J. Russ Herman, a senior
partner at Herman, Herman,
Katz & Cotlar (New Orleans),
recently was recognized by
the American Trial Lawyers
Association as one of the leading
litigators in the country.
1968
T U L A NE L AW Y E R FA LL 2 0 11
Frank E. Lamothe III has been
re-elected as President of the
Board of Directors of the Christwood Retirement Community in
Covington, La. Listed in the
Top Lawyers Section of the
Nov. 2010 issue of New Orleans
Magazine, Lamothe also has the distinction to be included in all editions of
The Best Lawyers in America for twentyfive years or longer.
38
Henry C. Walker, a criminal law attorney from Shreveport, delivered a Constitution Day lecture at Centenary College
in September 2010. Walker, who retired
after 40 years in the practice of civil
rights and criminal defense law, continues to work pro bono for groups dedicated to serving the impoverished, victims
of domestic violence, and youth justice.
1970
Earl Higgins announces the publication
of his second book, Metairie, Ames,
High: The Streets of Jefferson Parish
(Pelican Press).
1971
Harold B. Kushner, a
partner at Bradley Arant
Boult Cummings LLP,
has been named the 2011
Birmingham “Lawyer of
the Year” in Corporate
Law. Kushner has been
listed in Best Lawyers since 1989.
Donald A. Shindler has jumped from
partnership at DLA Piper LLP to managing senior counsel at the boutique
North Side law firm of Brown, Udell,
Pomerantz & Delrahim Ltd. (Chicago).
1972
The Hon. Edith Brown “Joy” Clement
was named Tulane University “Distinguished Alumna” for 2010. Judge
Clement was appointed to the United
States Court of Appeals for the Fifth
Circuit in 2001 after having served as
a United States District Judge for the
Eastern District of Louisiana since 1991.
She was a maritime attorney in the New
Orleans firm of Jones, Walker, Waechter,
Poitevent, Carrère & Denègre LLP from
1975 to 1991. Clement served as law
clerk to the late U.S. District Judge Herbert W. Christenberry from 1973 to 1975.
Walter Stuart has joined Freshfields
Bruckhaus Deringer’s U.S. litigation team.
As a new partner in the firm’s New York
office, Stuart will continue to represent
clients in litigation and arbitration matters, especially as they relate to financial,
business and securities law issues.
1974
James L. Ellis, a partner with Taylor
Porter in Baton Rouge, has been selected
for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in
America in Energy Law for the last ten
years. As the current Chairman of the
Board of the Greater Baton Rouge Airport Commission, Ellis further supports
his community by serving on the Board
of Directors for FuturePAC, the Manship
Theatre, Habitat for Humanity, Cerebral
Palsy Foundation, McMains Children’s
Developmental Center, ReStore of Baton
Rouge, and Evergreen Presbyterian
Ministries, Inc.
1975
Corinne A. Morrison was selected
by Martindale-Hubbell as one of the
first “Preeminent Women Lawyers” in
January 2011. Morrison is the Managing
Partner of Chaffe McCall, LLP, and has
practiced in the area of Commercial
Litigation for more than 30 years.
Gayle Letulle has been elected to the
Tulane Athletics Hall of Fame.
Sanford “Sandy” V. Teplitzky, chair of
Ober|Kaler’s Health Law Group, has been
elected to the Board of Directors of Baltimore Reads, Inc. for a three-year term.
1973
1976
Dan Elrod, an attorney in the Health Care
Practice Group of Miller & Martin PLLC,
was named one of Nashville’s “101
Top Lawyers” (2011) by Nashville Post
Magazine. Elrod also was highlighted in
the 2010 edition of InCharge Healthcare,
published by Nashville Medical News.
Barry Glenn has been named Senior
Executive Producer for StereoVision
Entertainment, Inc., a publicly traded
company focused exclusively on the
3D industry. StereoVision is located in
Van Nuys, Calif.
Kathleen Plemer was selected by
Martindale-Hubbell as one of the first
“Preeminent Women Lawyers” in
January 2011. Plemer has practiced with
Chaffe McCall, LLP, since 1985.
Miles P. Clements, a senior jury trial and
complex case litigator of Frilot LLC, was
inducted as a Fellow of the American
College of Trial Lawyers, one of the
premier legal associations in America.
1979
L I S A K. RU S H TO N
(L’9 4 )
F O U N D AT I O N
S U P P O RT S F E RT I L I T Y
Nina J. Crimm co-authored Politics,
Taxes and the Pulpit: Provocative First
Amendment Conflicts. Crimm is a professor of law at St. John’s University
School of Law in New York.
Chip Wagar, a managing partner at
Chopin, Wagar, Richard & Kutcher, LLP
(Metairie), announces that his debut
novel (historical fiction), An American in
Vienna, released by iUniverse, received
“Editor’s Choice” and “Rising Star”
designations from the publisher.
1980
Tom Foutz is president and co-founder
of ADR Inc., a Louisiana-based mediation and arbitration firm. He recently
developed TomFoutzADR.com, a division of ADR Inc., offering jury focus
groups and mock trials. In addition, he
recently was appointed to serve on the
transition team for New Orleans Mayor
Mitch Landrieu.
1981
Stanley Cohn is one of five recipients
of the 2010 National Football Foundation
Chapter Leadership Awards for outstanding leadership and dedication to amateur
football at the local level. Cohn represents the South Region from the Allstate
Sugar Bowl (LA) Chapter.
Susan Talley has
been elected vice chair
of the American Bar
Association Section of
Real Property, Trust and
Estate Law. Talley is a
member of the New
Orleans law firm of Stone Pigman
Walther Wittmann LLC.
isa K. Rushton has been appointed to the Board of Trustees (Baltimore, Md.) of the Tinina
Q. Cade Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides education and financial support
to families struggling with and overcoming infertility. Rushton, a partner at Paul Hastings,
LLP, in Washington, DC, and her husband, Charley Pereira, have been involved with the Cade
Foundation since the tragic death of their daughter, Savannah Caroline Pereira (April 30, 2009–March
9, 2010), who was conceived with the assistance of Shady Grove Fertility Center in Rockville, Md.
In Savannah’s memory, Rushton and Pereira established a Cade Foundation family building
grant to provide $10,000 annually to families struggling with infertility who need to pursue in vitro
fertilization (IVF) in order to conceive their first child. Support for Savannah’s Fund continues to
grow 18 months since its inception.
“In conjunction with one of the Cade Foundation’s primary fundraising events, a 5K event
called Race for the Family, we will be hosting for a second time an adjunct event called Savannah’s
Playground,” said Rushton. “People really loved it last year. We provide information on early
childhood education and safety and have a lot of activities for children to enjoy with one parent
while the other runs the race. The Playground includes a play area with music, face painting, arts
and crafts, and something called the ‘toddler trot’, which is a 50-yard dash for the little ones.”
Savannah’s Playground raised more than $15,000 in 2010 and already has received more than
$10,000 in donations prior to the 2011 event.
This June, Rushton and her husband introduced ‘Savannah’s Night Out,’ a second fundraising
activity, which they also plan to make into an annual event. “Our life was filled with music while
Savannah was with us,” Rushton explains with earnest emotion. “At this event, we invite guests to
join us for dinner, a silent auction, and an evening of entertainment with a couple different bands.”
In its first year, Savannah’s Night Out raised nearly $20,000.
In addition to these fundraising initiatives, Savannah’s Fund has received more than $64,000
to date in direct donations. It is Rushton’s and Pereira’s hope that through their love for Savannah
they can help others to discover the joys of parenthood.
To support the Savannah Memorial Fund or to learn more, please visit
www.firstgiving.com/savannahcarolinepereira.
L
Julie D. Livaudais was selected by
Martindale-Hubbell as one of the first
“Preeminent Women Lawyers” in
January 2011. Livaudais, a partner at
the law firm of Chaffe McCall, LLP, has
practiced labor and employment law
throughout her career.
Mark Bernstein is the Director of the
Legal Research Center and Professor of
Law at the Earle Mack School of Law at
Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pa.
Bernstein joined the law school in July
2009 after previous positions at Columbia,
Duke, and Saint Louis University.
Ben Zeltner, a partner with Levine
Staller Sklar Chan Brown
& Donnelly, P.A., has been
presented with The United
Way of Atlantic County’s
prestigious George F. Lynn
United Way Volunteer of
the Year Award.
Ashley L. Belleau, a
partner in Montgomery,
Barnett, Brown, Read,
Hammond & Mintz, LLP
(New Orleans office),
was installed as the 83rd
National President of the Federal Bar
Association on September 25, 2010, during its annual meeting in New Orleans.
Belleau maintains a commercial practice
with a concentration in arbitration, litigation on the federal and state court levels,
mediation, and transactional work.
Jon Schuyler Brooks, a litigation
partner and co-chair of Phillips Nizer’s
FA LL 20 11 T U L A N E L AW YE R
1983
1982
1984
39
A N TO N H A J JA R
A L M A M AT T E R S
( L ’7 5 )
ALUMNUS
KEEPS LABOR
R E L AT I O N S AT
THE FORE
abor lawyer Anton George Hajjar, a principal shareholder (partner) at the Washington,
DC, law firm of O’Donnell, Schwartz & Anderson, PC, has been elected to the Council
of the American Law Institute (ALI). Hajjar, who has served as a member of the ALI
since 2002, was elected at the opening session of the 87th annual ALI meeting held in May 2010.
“This is a great honor and a powerful recognition of Anton’s achievements in labor law and his
respected judgment as a lawyer,” said Tulane Law School Dean David Meyer.
Established in 1923 to promote the clarification and simplification of American common law
and its adaptation to changing social needs, the ALI drafts, approves, and publishes Restatements
of the Law, Principles of the Law, model codes, and other proposals for law reform. Membership
in the Institute is limited to 4,000 judges, lawyers, and legal scholars selected on the basis of professional achievement, personal character, and demonstrated interest in improving the law.
After receiving his law degree from Tulane, where he was a member of the Board of Editors of
the Tulane Law Review, Hajjar became a law clerk for Judge John Minor Wisdom at the United
States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He later was an attorney for the National Labor
Relations Board in the Appellate Court Branch and its Contempt Litigation Section. He is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and Maryland, and before the United States Supreme
Court and other federal courts.
T U L A NE L AWY E R FA LL 2 0 11
L
40
environmental law practice, filed suit on
Friday, April 8, 2011, against the NYC
Department of Education (“NYC DOE”)
to prevent NYC DOE from co-locating
a charter elementary school within the
Brandeis High School Educational Complex located in Manhattan. Phillips Nizer
is representing students and parents from
the high school without charge, as a public service in this case. The lawsuit details
the concerns raised by presidents of two
high school parent-teacher associations
about the loss of specialized high school
facilities, concerns about protecting high
school students with special needs, the
waste of taxpayer monies, and student
safety and security.
In another pro bono endeavor, Brooks
and colleagues are representing a group
of artists in their efforts to overturn
unconstitutional regulations imposed by
the NYC Parks Department on the sale
of artwork in municipal parks.
James Cooper, a partner
in the Trial section at
Gardere Wynne Sewell
LLP and co-chair of the
firm’s Policyholder
Insurance Coverage
Group, received the President’s Award
from the Houston Bar Association
(HBA) at its Annual Dinner Meeting on
Thursday, May 20, 2010, at the River
Oaks Country Club. The award was in
recognition of Cooper’s outstanding
service as co-chair of the HBA’s
Professionalism Committee.
Robert B. McNeal has been elected to
serve on the Board of Directors for
Liskow & Lewis. He heads an environmental, employment, commercial and
tort litigation practice in the firm’s
New Orleans office.
1985
Maura Carroll of
Concord, N.H., was
appointed executive director of the New Hampshire Local
Government Center (LGC), a position
she assumed June 10, 2010, following
nearly a year as LGC’s interim director
and nine as the center’s general counsel.
Carroll started her municipal career with
the LGC’s New Hampshire Municipal
Association in 1988 and was appointed
its director of government affairs in
1989. A former state representative and
Concord city councilor, she also has
served on boards for the United Way
of Merrimack County, Greater Concord
Chamber of Commerce, and Capitol
Center for the Arts.
Lillian E. Eyrich, a senior associate at
Steeg Law Firm, LLC (New Orleans),
has been re-elected to serve as secretary
to the Board of New Orleans Commercial Real Estate Women.
Marc S. Firestone, Executive Vice
President and General Counsel for Kraft
Foods, has joined Unilife Corporation’s
Board of Directors. Firestone will chair
the Unilife Board’s Nominating and
Corporate Governance Committees
and serve as a member of the Strategic
Partnerships Committee.
Keith Jarrett is a managing partner and
firm president at Liskow & Lewis, where
he focuses on maritime and oilfield torts
and contracts. Jarrett is on the Liskow &
Lewis team defending BP in the multidistrict litigation pending in federal court
in New Orleans.
Robert E. Langer is a visiting professor
at Fordham University Law School. He
continues to practice law with K&L Gates
as a senior partner in the Russian practice.
Lois Ragsdale is a law professor at the
Florida Coastal School of Law. Her mock
trial team took second place nationally
(2-1 vote) in the Thurgood Marshall
Mock Trial finals (Boston, MA).
Pirapan Salirathavibhaga is the Minister of Justice for the Kingdom of Thailand,
a Cabinet Ministry in the Government of
Thailand. As well as running prisons and
aiding the Royal Thai Police, the ministry runs the government’s drug and narcotic control policies. Salirathavibhaga
was formerly a judge.
Peter B. Sloss, a partner with Murphy
Rogers Sloss & Gambel in New Orleans,
was honored by the Louisiana State Bar
Association (LSBA), in conjunction with
the Louisiana Supreme Court, as a 2011
Pro Bono Publico Award recipient. Sloss
has volunteered with the New Orleans
Pro Bono Project, donating his expertise
in consumer and credit cases, as well as
wills and construction. Sloss was awarded a Distinguished Service award by
The New Orleans Pro Bono Project in
December 2010 at The Project’s annual
volunteer appreciation.
Garrett Smith is working in Darwin,
Australia, for the Northern Land Council
administering the Aboriginal Land
Rights Act.
1986
Alex Cosculluela, a partner with Adams
and Reese (Houston office), has accepted
invitation into the Litigation Counsel of
America (LCA), an invitation-only trial
lawyer honorary society limited to 3,500
fellows, representing less than one-half
of one percent of American lawyers. Fellows are selected and invited into Fellowship after being evaluated on effectiveness and accomplishment in litigation and
trial work, along with ethical reputation.
Melanie S. Joo has joined Arent Fox
LLP in the firm’s automotive practice
(Los Angeles).
Regina Hurley has been appointed
President of the Massachusetts Probate
and Family Courts Inns of Court.
Elizabeth Robertson Queen was Lead
Claims Counsel for U.S. transportation
insurance specialist Canal Insurance
Company and is now founding director
and legal and risk management consultant for Transportation and Insurance
Law Services, USA, PC.
1987
Laura Tuggle has been appointed
General Counsel of the Housing
Authority of New Orleans.
1988
The Hon. Nanette Jolivette-Brown, a
special partner with Chaffe McCall, was
appointed city attorney by New Orleans
Mayor Mitch Landrieu. Most recently,
the U.S. Senate in October unanimously
confirmed her as a U.S. District Court
Judge in New Orleans.
Barry Y. Greenberg has joined Swank
Capital as the firm’s new general counsel
and chief compliance officer. He also
serves in that capacity for The Cushing®
MLP Funds.
1989
Lynn N. Donley moved from being Associate Regional Counsel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Chicago, Ill.,
to a new position as Associate Counsel,
Office of Chief Counsel, Commercial
and Administrative Law Division, U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services,
U.S. Department of Homeland Security,
also in the Chicago area.
1990
David A. Buzard, an attorney with
Jeremiah A. Denton III, P.C., in Virginia
Beach, Va., and Navy JAG Reservist, has
been recalled to active duty. Since October
1, he affiliates with the Defense Institute
of International Legal Studies, an arm of
the Defense Security Cooperation Agency,
as its In-Country Rule of Law Program
Director to the Democratic Republic of
the Congo. Here, he oversees all facets
of the United States’ efforts to build and
strengthen the capacity of the Congolese
Armed Forces’ military justice sector,
through training and education, in
conjunction with the United Nations
Stabilization Mission in the Congo.
Alec Y. Chang, an antitrust lawyer at
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
LLP (Palo Alto, CA), has been elected
to the California State Bar’s Board of
Governors.
Robert S. Eitel has formed Talbert &
Eitel, PLLC, an education and employment law firm based in Washington, DC.
A former Deputy General Counsel of the
U.S. Department of Education, Eitel
counsels institutions, agencies, companies, and individuals in the education
sector. He and his family live in
Alexandria, Va.
Robin R. De Leo, of the De Leo Law
Firm in Mandeville, was honored by the
Louisiana State Bar Association (LSBA),
in conjunction with the Louisiana Supreme Court, as a 2011 Pro Bono Publico
Award recipient. The award recognizes
an attorney, or law firm, who has provided pro bono legal services to the citizens
of Louisiana that meets or exceeds the
aspirational goal of providing 50 hours
of pro bono services per year.
De Leo’s practice concentrates on
bankruptcy, where she has represented
Debtors, Creditors and Trustees in
Chapters 7, 11, and 13. She is admitted
as a Certified Consumer Bankruptcy
attorney by the American Bankruptcy
Institute and the American Board of
Certification. During the past twelve
months, De Leo has accepted and handled approximately seven bankruptcy
cases for Southeast Louisiana Legal
Services’ Pro Bono Project of the 22nd
Judicial District. She and her husband,
FALL 20 11 T UL A N E L AWY E R
Brooke Duncan, a senior
member of the Adams
and Reese Labor and
Employment team (New
Orleans), was elected to
the board of the Human
Resource Management
Association (HRMA) for the New Orleans
area, a chapter of the Society for Human
Resource Management.
U.S. Magistrate Judge L. Felipe
Restrepo received a 2010 Justice William
J. Brennan Jr. Distinguished Jurist Award
from the Philadelphia Bar. He was recognized for his work with the Supervision to
Aid Reentry Program, one of the first
prisoner reentry court initiatives in the
federal system.
41
A L M A M AT T E R S
John De Leo, a pharmaceutical sales representative with Pfizer, have two children
Paige (14) and Danielle (11).
1992
Jessica K. Hew, a partner with Burr &
Forman LLP, recently finished serving a
one-year term as Chair of the Information
Committee of the Equal Opportunities
Law Section of the Florida Bar.
Mercedes M. Sellek, a transactional
attorney who practices commercial and
residential real estate law, development
and finance, banking, environmental and
land use law, and general corporate matters, has joined Abadin Cook (Miami,
FL). She was a staff attorney with the
U.S. Small Business Administration’s
disaster relief division following
Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
Mark S. Senter has joined Cowles &
Thompson, P.C., as a shareholder in the
firm’s Dallas office. His practice focuses
on commercial and construction litigation on behalf of business owners, partnerships and corporations throughout the
United States, Germany, Mexico and
Dubai. Senter is the former vice president and general counsel of Global
Technical Resources, LLC, in New
Orleans, and practiced with the law firm
of Gardner & Kewley, APLC, until relocating to Texas in the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina.
1993
T U L A NE L AW Y E R FA LL 2 0 11
Carlos A. Gavilondo has been promoted
to partnership at Hiscock & Barclay in
the firm’s Syracuse, N.Y., office.
42
David F. Lewis has been
appointed Partner-In-Charge
of Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs,
LLP (Nashville office).
Lewis is a member of the
firm’s Corporate &
Securities Team.
Sonja Muir and her husband, Jason
Krzewski, are happy to announce the
birth of their second child, Paige
Summer, who was born July 30, 2010.
Paige has a two-year-old brother, Aidan.
Eric D. Suben is a partner in the New
York office of Traub Lieberman Straus
& Shrewsberry LLP, where his practice
focuses on insurance coverage and coverage litigation. In May, he was a featured
speaker in the New York State Bar
Association’s CLE program “Insurance
Coverage 2011,” presenting on the topic
of ethical dilemmas posed by “defense
within limits” policies.
1994
Edward L. Fenasci has
become associated with the
law firm of Curry & Friend,
PLC, with offices in New
Orleans and Covington. Fenasci practices
primarily in the areas of Environmental
Litigation and Toxic Tort Defense.
Christina Mason Glogoff recently has
been appointed to serve as Assistant
Attorney General/ Director of the Office
of Law Enforcement Professional Standards, where she is responsible for oversight of the internal affairs policies of the
New Jersey State Police (NJSP). She and
her husband David, the Chief Legal Officer of Vertis Communications, reside in
Pennington, N.J., with their three children,
Gray (10), Lauren (8), and Gavin (5).
Geoffrey R. Goldberg
has joined Lowenstein
Sandler as Chief Marketing Officer (New York
City office). Goldberg
will direct all marketing
and business development
efforts for the 255-lawyer firm.
Angela Marie Jordan, assistant U.S. attorney in the Northern District of Georgia,
will serve a year as the resident legal
adviser at the embassy in Baghdad, Iraq.
Philip O’Connell has been appointed
as Senior Managing Director of The
Corcoran Group’s Southampton office.
O’Connell will focus on agent career
development and sales revenue.
1995
Kasturi Bagchi, shareholder at Southfield-based
Maddin, Hauser, Wartell, Roth & Heller
P.C., spoke to the Detroit Rotary Club
in fall 2010, discussing how the business
community can influence the Detroit
Works Project to promote real estate
development and acquisition. Bagchi
focuses her law practice on managing
risks for clients in real estate, lending,
and asset-based transactions.
Diana McKearney has been elected
Vice President and General Counsel of
Mzinga, a social software, services, and
business analytics company. McKearney
will manage contracts, intellectual property, and corporate governance matters.
Karen Carter Peterson is the new
Louisiana state senator for Senate District 5. The New Orleans native joined
the Louisiana Senate after a decade of
service in the Louisiana House of Representatives, most recently as House
Speaker Pro Tempore. She also worked
as a member of the House Appropriations Committee, the Joint Legislative
Budget Committtee and the House Governmental Affairs Committee. During her
service in the House, she was also the
first woman to chair the House Insurance
Committee. Sen. Carter Peterson is a
practicing attorney.
David Strauss and Jenifer Kelly-Strauss
(NC ’92) announce the birth of Zoe
Annabella on January 17, 2011. The
baby joins her brother, Sebastian (6).
The family lives in New Orleans.
Carter Wilbur has completed his posting as a Contracting/Logistics Officer in
Lilongwe, Malawi, and has assumed duty
at his new assignment as an Economic
Officer at the Embassy of the United
States of America in Kabul, Afghanistan.
1996
Brian Katz, a partner at
Herman, Herman, Katz &
Cotlar, LLP, was installed
as the President of the
Greater New Orleans Jewish Community Center in
February 2011. Over the years, Katz also
has been acknowledged for his volunteer
P H Y L L I S TAY L O R
efforts and has received several awards for
his civic work.
1997
Joseph L. Mira has been elected as a
new Director of Kane Russell Coleman &
Logan PC, where he practices in the firm’s
litigation section.
Teresita Chavez-Pedrosa, a partner
of Yoss LLP (Miami), is the Florida
Regional President of the Hispanic
National Bar.
David C. Rieveschl has joined Baker,
Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell &
Berkowitz, PC, as Of Counsel in the
Securities & Corporate Governance
Department (New Orleans). Rieveschl
concentrates his practice in the areas
of securities, corporate, mergers and
acquisitions, and banking law.
Scott and Mona Stone
recently moved from
Chicago, Ill., to Scottsdale, Ariz. Scott now
serves as General Counsel for Regis Development, and Mona practices
at the Phoenix office of Greenberg
Traurig, where she focuses on litigation
and labor and employment matters.
She recently published her third book,
Responding to EEOC Investigations:
What Employers Need to Know (Boston:
Aspatore Books, a division of Thomson
Reuters, 2011).
Christopher L. Thomas has joined
Ogletree Deakins as a shareholder in the
firm’s Denver office.
1998
1999
Whitney Fogerty has been selected
for partnership at Jackson Lewis, LLP
(Memphis).
A LIFETIME OF COMMITMENT
A N D S E RV I C E
hyllis M. Taylor is the 2011 recipient of the Dermot S.
McGlinchey Lifetime Achievement Award. Established in
1996 to honor the memory of Dermot McGlinchey, who
graduated from the College of Arts and Sciences of Tulane University in 1954 and Tulane
Law School in 1957, the award honors “those who have demonstrated service and volunteer
involvement and commitment to Tulane and their hometown communities.”
Taylor served as law clerk for the Supreme Court of Louisiana and Orleans Parish Civil
District Court and was in-house counsel for John W. Mecom Sr., beginning her career in the
oil industry in 1972. She assumed leadership of Taylor Energy Co. following the death of
her husband, Patrick F. Taylor, in 2004. She serves as chair and president of the Patrick F.
Taylor Foundation and for more than 25 years has devoted herself to issues concerning
women, children, health, education, and the arts.
Past award recipients of the law school include Sen. John J. Hainkel (L ’61) in 2001,
James R. Nieset (L ’67) in 2000, and A. Lane Plauché (L ’47) in 1997.
P
Russell C. Ford, Counsel at Verrill Dana
LLP, received the First Decade Award
from the National Association of College
and University Attorneys (NACUA)
during its 50th Annual Conference in
Washington, DC. Ford is a member of
Verrill Dana’s Immigration and Higher
Education groups.
David Sheinbein has been promoted
to equity shareholder status within
Chamberlain Hrdlicka’s Houston office,
where he maintains a corporate transactional practice.
Dorothy J. Spenner has been elected to
partnership in the Securities Litigation
practice of Sidley Austin LLP (New
York office).
2000
C. Britton Bonner has
returned to practice with
Adams and Reese as
Special Counsel in the
Litigation Practice Group.
He first joined Adams
and Reese as a law clerk
in 1999. Bonner will maintain offices in
both Mobile and Foley, Ala.
Cecilio Hijo Castillero has joined
ARIFA in Panama. Castillero previously
was with Milbank, Tweed, Hadley &
McCloy in New York.
Heather Durham Nadler has joined the
law offices of Ruthann P. Lacey, PC, as
a senior associate concentrating in the
areas of special needs law, elder law and
estate planning. Nadler is certified by
the National Elder Law Foundation as an
Elder Law Attorney.
Aimee Quirk has been appointed as
New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s
economic development advisor.
2001
Jonathan C. Augustine has
been selected by the National
Bar Association (NBA) as one
of this year’s “Nation’s Best
Advocates: 40 Lawyers Under
40.” Augustine, who was
appointed deputy executive
director of the Louisiana Workforce
Commission in September 2010, was
honored July 31, 2011, at the NBA’s
86th Annual Convention in Baltimore,
Md. Further, the American Diabetes
Association and Baton Rouge Father’s
Day Council honored Augustine with the
inaugural “Father of the Year” Award at a
gala held Father’s Day weekend.
FALL 2 0 11 T UL A N E L AW Y E R
David P. Eldridge was promoted from
chief of staff at the Illinois Department
of Corrections to deputy director of
the Bureau of Strategic Sourcing at
the Illinois Department of Central
Management Services.
( L ’6 6 )
43
A L M A M AT T E R S
TIM GRIFFIN
( L ’9 4 )
2002
S TA RT I N G OV E R A S A
FRESHMAN IN CONGRESS
T
im Griffin, U.S. Army Reservist and former U.S.
Attorney, in October was tapped by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney to serve on a National
Advisory council for Romney’s campaign and act as Arkansas
Campaign Chairman. Prior, Griffin was elected to the United States House of Representatives
by voters in Arkansas’s Second Congressional District. He is only the second Republican elected to represent the Second District since 1874, winning 58 percent to 38 percent. According to
Griffin, “Many friends from Tulane supported my campaign, and I am proud to be a Tulane
alumnus in Congress.”
Previously, Griffin was the principal in the Griffin Law Firm, PLLC, and in Griffin Public
Affairs, LLC, both based in Little Rock. He has served in the U.S. Army Reserve for 14 years,
was deployed to Iraq, and holds the rank of Major. He also served as U.S. Attorney for the
Eastern District of Arkansas and Special Assistant, Deputy Director of the White House Office
of Political Affairs for President George W. Bush. Griffin resides in Little Rock with his wife
and their two children.
Joelle T. Bowers has accepted an inhouse counsel position at FedEx Office
as a Litigation and Employment
Attorney. She resides in Dallas, Texas.
T U L A N E L AW YE R FALL 20 11
Daniel O. Carroll, an associate with
Schenck, Price, Smith & King and a
member of the firm’s Business Law
Department and its Business Transactions
and Corporate Governance Practice
Groups, is moving with the firm to Florham Park, N.J. Carroll represents and
advises a diverse array of business
clients with respect to entity formation,
corporate governance, regulatory compliance, commercial transactions, securities
law issues, mergers and acquisitions,
finance and general corporate matters.
44
Heather Hodges contributed a chapter on
scientific experts to the 552-page book
entitled, Litigators On Experts: Strategies
For Managing Expert Witnesses From
Retention Through Trial, edited by associate law professors Allyson W. Haynes,
Charleston School of Law, and Wendy
Gerwick Couture, University of Idaho–
Boise, College of Law.
Hodges currently serves as the new Pro
Bono Counsel at Neighborhood Legal
Services Program (NLSP). In addition,
she was awarded a Georgetown Women’s
Law and Public Policy Fellowship.
Cesar Gonzales has been named to
serve as Chief of Staff to Congressman
Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-25). Prior to this
position, he held positions as an attorney
at AARP and as an assistant to the
Mayor of the City of Miami.
Shane J. Straud has joined the law firm
of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP
as Special Counsel (New York).
Lee Vanderpool has joined Pepper
Hamilton’s financial services practice
group as of counsel and will focus his
practice on banking and financing matters (Philadelphia office).
Sabrina C. Vickers, a partner with Chaffe
McCall, LLP, recently was named Chairman of the International Association of
Attorneys and Executives in Corporate
Real Estate (AECRE).
Eric Winwood was
elected partner at Baker
Botts LLP, effective
January 1, 2011 (Dallas
office).
Michelle Boudreaux was promoted to
Vinson & Elkins’ partnership (Energy Regulatory, Houston office), effective January
1, 2011. She focuses on compliance with
federal and state law governing the transportation of crude oil, refined petroleum
products, and natural gas by pipeline.
She is a member of the Houston Bar
Association and Energy Bar Association.
Melissa Gittings Campbell has joined
Jones Walker as special counsel in the
Business & Commercial Litigation
Practice Group (Miami, FL).
Victoria Holstein-Childress has been
promoted to counsel of Buckley Sandler
LLP (Washington, DC). HolsteinChildress represents individuals and corporations in government enforcement,
civil, criminal, and congressional investigations and in complex civil litigation
before state and federal trial and appellate courts throughout the U.S.
Gabriel A. “Gabe” Crowson has
returned to the firm of McGlinchey Stafford PLLC. Crowson is of counsel in the
commercial litigation section of the firm
and is resident in the New Orleans office.
William F. Davis has been named a
member of Cozen O’Connor. Davis practices in the New York office as a member
of the Business Law Department, focusing on real estate law.
Peter J. Glazer is proud to announce the
establishment of The Glazer Law Firm,
PC. The firm provides litigation and advisory services to protect the success of
its clients in Virginia and Washington, DC.
2003
Wiley Richmond Beevers (LLM),
Attorney-Advisor, Intellectual Property
Rights & Restricted Merchandise
Branch, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, represented U.S. Customs and
Border Protection (CBP) in Cairo,
Egypt, in March 2010. He represented
CBP in a “Workshop on Effective Border
Enforcement of Intellectual Property
Rights” with Egyptian Customs as part
of his duties as an attorney with the
Office of International Trade, United
States Customs and Border Protection,
Washington, DC. His previous international presentations also have included
Russia and Ukraine.
Shannon C. Burr has
become associated with
the law firm of Curry &
Friend, PLC, with offices
in New Orleans and
Covington, La. Burr practices primarily in the areas
of Environmental Litigation and Toxic
Tort Defense.
Julie Skacel Gibson is the new Contract
Management Attorney for St. Luke’s
Episcopal Health System in Houston.
She has a daughter, Ella Milly (1).
John J. Michael has joined Sutherland
Asbill & Brennan LLP where he is the
Head of Sutherland’s firmwide Maritime
& Offshore Transactions Team.
Melissa Elwyn Slavin and her husband,
Joshua Slavin, are proud to announce the
birth of Scarlett Elwyn Slavin on
January 21, 2011, in New York City.
Mariana Souza (LLM) is living in Rio,
where she is employed with Veirano
Advogados. She has a “beautiful” oneyear-old girl, Beatriz.
Collin Williams has left his job as an
attorney to open Emerald Smoke, Chicago’s first gym exclusively dedicated to
the sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA).
2004
Kevin S. Afghani, of Afghani Law Firm,
has moved his patent practice to The
Greystone Building on 4115 Rawlins
Street, Dallas, Texas, 75219. For more
info, visit www.afghanipatentlaw.com.
Joshua M. Atlas has
joined Arnstein & Lehr
LLP as an associate in
the firm’s Commercial
Litigation Practice Group
(West Palm Beach).
Christopher D. Baucom
has joined Armstrong
Teasdale LLP as an associate in the St. Louis office.
Baucom, previously with
Bryan Cave, focuses his practice in the
areas of complex product liability, mass
tort, and commercial litigation.
Daniel H. Charest is a partner in
Susman Godfrey where he serves on the
firm’s litigation team. Since joining the
firm’s Dallas office, Charest has maintained a wide-ranging litigation docket
and has appeared in federal and state
courts across the country. Charest is
also a proud husband and father of two
wonderful children.
Emily Eagan has moved to Gieger
Laborde’s New Orleans office.
Mark J. Graffagnini is a member and
principal of Maximum Generation, LLC
(offices in New Orleans and Connecticut),
a commercial consulting firm focused on
innovative financing vehicles for smallscale combined heat and power (CHP)
projects in the commercial and institutional sectors.
TA N DY O’D O N O G H U E
( L ’9 7 )
TENNIS EXECUTIVE
TA C K L E S W R E S T L I N G
orld Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.
(WWE) recently promoted Tandy
O’Donoghue to Senior Vice President,
Operations and New Business Development. In her
current role, O’Donoghue is responsible for various
business development initiatives, including WWE’s
efforts to develop and launch a cable television network. She joined WWE in April 2010 as Vice
President, Operations and New Business Development
after working for several years in the tennis industry,
most recently as Managing Director, Business Affairs
WWE Superstar John Cena celebrates
at the United States Tennis Association (USTA).
another victorious Championship win!
O’Donoghue began her career as an attorney with
Proskauer Rose LLP in their Sports Practice Group.
O’Donoghue resides in Connecticut and remains a loyal New York
sports fan with “high hopes for the post-lockout Knicks.”
W
Stewart Spielman has joined the commercial litigation section of McGlinchey
Stafford PLLC (Baton
Rouge), where he focuses on bankruptcy, creditors’ rights, commercial
finance litigation, and
structured finance.
45
A L M A M AT T E R S
2006
PA B L O E . C A R R I L L O
(L ’9 7 )
C O N F RO N T I N G H I G H - L E V E L C O R RU P T I O N
ablo E. Carrillo has been advising Senator McCain at the Senate Armed Services
Committee on defense acquisition policy and acquisition management issues and on
naval shipbuilding and Navy and Air Force aviation programs. Carrillo served as the lead
Republican staffer in developing the Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009, major
bi-partisan legislation, and advised the Senator on a multibillion Air Force program to buy new
aerial refueling tankers.
In 2008, Carrillo served as Senior Advisor for Special Projects to the McCain-Palin campaign.
When Senator McCain chaired the Senate Indian Affairs Committee approximately three years
ago, he conducted an investigation for him into allegations of misconduct relating to infamous
DC lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The investigation ultimately uncovered evidence that so far has led
to seventeen guilty pleas and convictions, including the imprisonment of a Member of Congress
and a senior White House administration official on public corruption charges.
P
Erin Houck-Toll,
an associate with
Henderson Franklin, has
become Board Certified
in Tax Law by The
Florida Bar (and only
the sixth board certified
tax lawyer in Fort Myers).
2005
T U L A N E L AW Y E R FA L L 2 011
Adelaida Ferchmin, a partner with
Chaffe McCall, LLP, recently was elected
President of the Women’s International
Shipping and Trading Association
(WISTA) New Orleans Chapter.
46
Catharine “Katie” Hall Giannasi is an
associate in the Corporate Law Division
of Husch Blackwell Sanders (Chattanooga
Dome office). She concentrates her
practice in the areas of commercial
transactions and corporate law.
David Kovsky was admitted to the New
York Bar on May 17. He also is admitted
in Pennsylvania. Kovsky is based in the
Philadelphia office of Cozen O’Connor
where he is an Associate in Private Client
Services Group (Trusts and Estates).
Matthew L. Mullins has been selected
for partnership in the firm of Taylor,
Porter, Brooks & Phillips, LLP.
Britton H. Seal joined
the New Orleans office of
Jones, Walker, Waechter,
Poitevent, Carrère &
Denègre LLP as an associate in the Corporate &
Securities Practice Group.
Elliot Scott started medical school at
LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans
in August 2011.
Tracey X. Zheng has joined the Business
Litigation and Business & Real Estate
Transaction Groups of Williams Kastner
(Seattle office). She will focus her practice on tax law and general litigation.
Ted Boehm has joined
Fisher & Phillips LLP as
an associate attorney in
the Atlanta office. He will
focus his practice on labor
and employment matters.
Most recently, Boehm was
a litigation associate for four years with
Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell &
Berkowitz, PC (Chattanooga, TN).
Paul R. Gugliuzza has joined the faculty
of the University of Florida Levin College
of Law (Gainesville) as a visiting legal
skills professor, teaching appellate advocacy and legal research and writing.
Shelley Miller is the civilian attorney
supervisor for the United States Coast
Guard (USCG) Waterways Management
Division (Eighth District) in New Orleans.
Ross Miller founded South Carolinabased Miller|Conway, a full-service law
firm specializing in corporate, immigration, personal injury, and elder law.
Jane K. Lee has joined Dykema’s Los
Angeles legal team. Her practice focuses
on representing major financial institutions including banks, mortgage lenders
and auto finance companies in all
aspects of litigation.
Michelle C. Purchner, an associate at
The Andry Law Group, LLC, where she
focuses on environmental litigation,
was honored by the Louisiana State Bar
Association (LSBA), in conjunction
with the Louisiana Supreme Court, as a
2011 Pro Bono Publico Award recipient.
Purchner volunteered more than two
hundred hours in 2010 with the Pro
Bono Project and the Loyola Wage
Claim Clinic. She continues to volunteer
her time for this cause.
Trevor Sava has joined the law firm of
McDonald Hopkins in the Business Department of the firm’s Cleveland office.
Lori Werderitch has joined the litigation
team of Rutter, Hobbs & Davidoff as
an associate in the firm’s Los Angeles
office. Her appellate practice includes
the California Courts of Appeal and the
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
2007
Danielle Babashoff, an associate in
the litigation practice at Steeg Law Firm,
LLC (New Orleans), received the Tulane
Law School Moot Court’s Steve Singer
Benevolent Practitioner Award.
Babashoff has joined New Orleans
Commercial Real Estate Women.
Sergio A. Balsinde III, formerly from
Wicker Smith, joined Marinello &
Kotzen, PA, in Miami Lakes. He immediately will begin handling the defense
of general liability matters for the firm.
C. Whitfield Caughman
has joined Freeman
Mathis & Gary, LLP, as
an associate in the firm’s
Business Liability and
Insurance Law Practice
Group (Atlanta, GA).
She focuses on professional liability
matters.
Allan M. Johnson and Leslie T. Scheuermann will celebrate two years of marriage this December. The two were married at the St. Louis Cathedral in New
Orleans in 2009. They have settled in
Dallas, where Leslie is a litigation associate at Winstead PC, and Allan is a litigation associate at Vinson & Elkins LLP.
2008
Valerie Auger has joined Kemp Smith
law firm as an associate in the litigation
department. Most recently Auger served
with the U.S. District Court, Western
District of Texas as a judicial law clerk.
Her practice will focus on healthcare liability claims and general civil litigation.
Kyle Johnston has joined Globalstar,
Inc., a publicly-traded satellite communications company headquartered in
Breen Sullivan has joined the Trademark
and Copyright Team of Kilpatrick
Stockton as an associate in the firm’s
Intellectual Property Department (New
York office). Sullivan focuses her practice on trademark copyright prosecution
and litigation.
Adam D. Swain joined Alston & Bird
in 2010 as an associate in the firm’s
Intellectual Property Litigation Group
(Washington, DC).
2009
Galen M. Hair has joined Stanley,
Reuter, Ross, Thornton & Alford, LLC,
following a fellowship with the Tulane
Domestic Violence Clinic.
Wesley A. Garten has joined Ogletree,
Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, PC, as
an associate with the firm’s New Orleans
office. Garten practices primarily in the
area of employment litigation and represents management in claims arising
under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of
1964 as amended in 1991, the Americans
with Disabilities Act Amendment Act,
the Family Medical Leave Act, the Age
Discrimination in Employment Act, as
well as other federal and state employment laws.
Zachary Kupperman, an associate at
Steeg Law Firm, LLC (New Orleans),
has joined the “Trust Your Crazy Ideas
Challenge” steering committee as legal
counsel.
Gregory Rome, along with Loyola
law alum Sharon Williams, founded
Williams & Rome, LLC (Chalmette,
LA). The firm is a general practice firm
focusing on the areas of family and
domestic law, successions, personal
injury claims, and small business
formation and litigation.
Margot Want has joined
Adams and Reese as an
associate in the Litigation
Practice Group (New
Orleans office).
2010
Shreya Biswas is the Director of
Technology and IP Portfolio Analysis at
Dreamcatchers Group in Seattle, Wash.
Biswas represents inventors in the biochemical and biotechnology fields.
Blair Brogan has joined the Coral Gables,
Fla.-based maritime, art, and aviation law
firm of Moore & Company as an associate attorney. Brogan’s practice area is
Maritime Law.
Maggie Broussard
has joined the litigation
section of Stone Pigman
Walther Wittmann LLC
as an associate.
Brittany Buckley has
joined Kean Miller as an
associate in the firm’s
New Orleans office.
Minseo Choi has joined the Global
Legal Office of STX Corporation, a
South Korean holding company engaged
in the provision of trading services. His
training in U.S. Maritime Law will be
“an asset to his work in Seoul.”
Thad Culley has joined the law energy
firm Keyes & Fox, LLP, as an associate
in the firm’s Oakland office. He is participating in two active utility rate cases
and already has experienced his first
earthquake.
Erin Delatte has joined Liskow & Lewis
as an associate in the firm’s commercial
litigation section (New Orleans).
Alex Glaser has joined Phelps Dunbar,
effective December 2010.
FA L L 2 011 T U L AN E L AW YE R
Avione Brown, an associate at Jones,
Walker, Waechter, Poitevent, Carrère &
Denègre, LLP, serves on The Success
Preparatory Academy Board of Directors
as Member-at-Large.
Covington, La., as Assistant General
Counsel. In 2010, Gambit Weekly recognized Johnston as a top “40 Under 40” in
the New Orleans area. Finally, Johnston
welcomed Josephine Clarke Johnston
into the world on September 5, 2010.
47
A L M A M AT T E R S
T W E N T Y T U L A N E L AW Y E R S
NA M E D “ L E A D E R S I N L AW ”
CityBusiness’ “Leadership in Law” publication annually recognizes 50 area
legal professionals in four categories: firm associated, court associated, inhouse counsel, and educators. Now in its seventh year, the listing continues
to recognize the unique strength of character that stems from Tulane lawyers,
who again comprised nearly half of the publication’s new member class.
Based on distinctive professional contributions, community involvement, and
achievements that have set the pace for the overall community, the following
Tulane Law School alums and scholars have been honored as “leaders in
law” for 2011.
Educators
Senior Research Fellow and Director,
Tulane Institute on Water Resources
Law and Policy, Mark Davis
Tulane Professor of Law Oliver Houck
In-house Counsel
Donna Klein (’81)
Firm Associated
Brent Barriere (’81)
Joseph Bruno (’78)
Bob Burvant (’84)
Daniel Davillier (’94)
Brooke Duncan (’86)
William Forrester (’68)
Mike Gertler (’69)
Joseph Giarrusso (’77)
Alida Hainkel (’92)
Keith Jarrett (’85)
James Klick (’81)
Michael Riess (’83)
Michael Schneider (’83)
Karen Shipman (’98)
Robert Stefani (’87)
Jason Waguespack (’91)
William Wright (’74)
Since the Leadership in Law inception, CityBusiness has inducted only nine
greater New Orleans legal professionals into the “Leadership in Law Hall
of Fame.” The law school is proud to have two of those inductees in its
alumni circle—both Wayne Lee (’74) and Walter Leger Jr. (’76) were
inducted in 2009.
T UL AN E L AW Y E R FAL L 2 011
“To err is human; to forgive, divine.” –Alexander Pope
48
Every effort has been made to proofread the various class notes. If, for any
reason, your news lacks accuracy, please accept our sincere apology and
relay the correct information to the editor via e-mail, lvergona@tulane.edu,
or telephone, (504) 865-5976.
Due to space limitations, notes may be edited for length, content, and style.
Jeffrey Good has joined
the business section of
Jones Walker, primarily
handling real estate
transactions and commercial lending as
well as general business and tax law.
Megan A. Healy has joined the Trial
Practice Group of Thompson & Knight
LLP as a new associate in the firm’s
Houston office.
S. Eric Lee (LLM) has joined the
Mobile office of Burr & Forman as an
associate and practices in the litigation
group’s transportation and maritime
section. He works directly with John
Kavanagh (L ’92) who is currently the
co-chair of the transportation and maritime practice group.
Skelly B. McCay has joined King, Krebs
& Jurgens as an associate in the firm’s
New Orleans office. McCay concentrates
on admiralty and maritime matters,
commercial litigation and construction
litigation.
Jeffrey Pastorek has joined Lemle &
Kelleher as an associate in the New
Orleans office. He practices in the area
of admiralty and maritime law.
Lance Simon spent summer of 2010 as
a clerk with the Israeli Supreme Court.
Caroline Spangler has joined Phelps
Dunbar as an associate in the firm’s
New Orleans office.
2011
Following law school
graduation this past
May, Rosanna Eugenio
was honored by the
Louisiana State Bar
Association (LSBA),
in conjunction with the
Louisiana Supreme Court, with the 2011
Law Student Pro Bono Award. The honor
recognizes law students from American
Bar Association-accredited law schools
in Louisiana who have demonstrated
dedication to providing legal services
to the poor.
IN MEMORIAM
Moise Steeg Jr. (’37)
New Orleans, LA
August 20, 2010
John Wood Anthony (’42)
Bogalusa, MS
October 20, 2010
John Fred Caraway (’44)
New Orleans, LA
January 25, 2011
Katherine Brash Jeter (’45)
Shreveport, LA
May 11, 2011
Edgar K. Corey (’46)
Tulsa, OK
November 27, 2010
Arnold J. Rosenthal (’46)
Alexandria, LA
December 22, 2010
William Everard Wright Sr. (’46)
Mandeville, LA
April 3, 2011
Robert Blouin Oliver (’47)
Monroe, LA
July 18, 2010
Sidney K. Pate (’47)
Jackson, MS
December 28, 2010
William C. Menge (’48)
New Orleans, LA
January 4, 2011
Calvin Carl Hoppmeyer (’49)
Slidell, LA
May 30, 2011
James D. Rives Jr. (’50)
Covington, LA
November 18, 2010
David R. Richardson (’78)
New Orleans, LA
December 3, 2010
Francis Rivers Lelong (’52)
New Orleans, LA
June 10, 2011
Michael “Mickey” Eugene
Neidenbach (’80)
Gainesville, GA
January 20, 2011
George W. Pigman Jr. (’52)
New Orleans, LA
February 16, 2011
Harry S.H. Verlander Jr. (’52)
Slidell, LA
January 24, 2011
Benjamin R. Slater Jr. (’53)
New Orleans, LA
January 20, 2011
The Hon. John P. Volz Sr. (’59)
Tulsa, OK
February 12, 2011
David Jesse Harris (’60)
Atlanta, GA
April 20, 2011
Charles Kirk Reasonover (’60)
New Orleans, LA
July 1, 2010
Charles E. Williams (’65)
Huntsville, AL
February 27, 2011
Orville A. Kennelly (’67)
Green Valley, AZ
May 24, 2010
Michael A. Starks (’68)
Tampa, FL
January 8, 2011
Thomas W. Tucker (LLM ’68)
New Orleans, LA
May 13, 2011
Randall K. Brooks (’73)
San Francisco, CA
January 24, 2011
David E. Golia Paladin (’73)
Chapel Hill, NC
February 23, 2010
Hugh Wilton Tedder Jr. (’81)
Jackson, MS
February 27, 2011
Marjorie Nieset Neufeld (’84)
Los Angeles, CA
October 10, 2010
Peter Alexander Landry (’86)
New Iberia, LA
August 24, 2010
Caryl Louise Boies (’87)
Fort Lauderdale, FL
December 26, 2010
Linda Sue Johnson (’88)
Alexandria, VA
October 23, 2010
Remmurd L. Carter (’89)
Los Angeles, CA
February 3, 2011
Bryan K. McMinn (’89)
Winter Park, FL
July 21, 2010
Paul Peter “Boulos” Reggie (’89)
Lake Charles, LA
August 5, 2010
Mario Torres-Marín (’02)
Dorado, Puerto Rico
December 20, 2010
Clement Martin Dugal (’09)
North Adams, MA
October 24, 2010
Forrest Reid Mooy (’09)
Falls Church, VA
November 10, 2010
FALL 2 0 11 T UL A N E L AW Y E R
Harold B. Judell (’50)
Atlanta, GA
February 12, 2011
David Conroy (’52)
New Orleans, LA
March 28, 2011
49
A L M A M AT T E R S
REUNIONS
FA L L 2 0 1 0
CLASS OF 1965
45th REUNION
at Commander’s Palace
CLASS OF 1950
60th REUNION
at Antoine’s Restaurant
CLASS OF 1980
T U L A N E L AW YE R FA LL 20 11
30th REUNION
at Arnaud’s Creole Cottage
50
CLASS OF 1975
CLASS OF 1985
35th REUNION
at the home of law alum Bill Ryan
and his wife, Pam Reynolds Ryan
25th REUNION
at the home of law alum E. Howell Crosby
and his wife, Katie Andry Crosby
S P R I N G 2011
CLASS OF 2006
5th REUNION
at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel
Penthouse
ADMIRALTY LAW
LUNCHEON
Friday, March 25, 2011
at Arnaud’s
NEW ORLEANS
ALUMNI LUNCHEON
Thursday, April 14, 2011
at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel
FA LL 20 11 T UL A NE L AW Y E R
51
A L M A M AT T E R S
H AT S O F F !
C L A S S O F 2 0 11: L E A D E R S I N L AW
he Tulane 34 Award is presented to the 34 Tulane University graduates
who best exemplify leadership, service, and academic excellence.
Named for the year in which the university was founded, it is among
the most coveted university-wide honors bestowed upon students.
“This impressive showing is a great credit to the law school and, above all,
to the extraordinary individuals who have earned this recognition,” said
Tulane Law School Dean David Meyer.
Distinguishing themselves throughout the collegiate life were law graduates
Ian Furman, William Brian London, Tyler Emrys Kent Maulsby, Emma
Rebhorn, and Nadja Tilstra. All five law students, along with the 29 other award
recipients, were honored at a campus ceremony on the evening of May 11.
T
“ I C A M E T O L AW S C H O O L T O
A D V O C AT E F O R P E O P L E W H O
W O U L D N ’ T O T H E RW I S E H AV E A
V O I C E . T H I S AWA R D I N S P I R E S M E
A N D W I L L B E A C O N S TA N T R E M I N D E R
T H AT E V E N T H E S M A L L E S T T H I N G S
C A N H AV E A T R E M E N D O U S I M PA C T. ”
—Tyler Maulsby (L ’11), recipient, Tulane 34 Award
HEAD OF
THE CLASS
The Tulane Law School Annual Awards
and Honors Ceremony, held Friday,
May 13, in Weinmann Hall, honored the
following 2011 law graduates:
Faculty Medal
W. Brian London
Dean’s Medals
Jeremy Burkhardt
Endre Szalay
Civil Law Studies Award
Christina Peck
George Dewey Nelson Award
Clinton Smith
T U L A NE L AWY E R FA LL 2 011
John Minor Wisdom Award
W. Brian London
52
Federal Bar Association Award
Ryan Mylrea
Student Bar Association
President Award
Scott Goldin
Tulane Tax Institute Award
Ashvidha Sivapalan
Charles Kohlmeyer Jr. Award
in Maritime Law
Lauren Anderson
Justin Woodard
Edward A. Dodd Jr. Award
in Admiralty Law
Nathan Orf
Haber Joseph McCarthy
Environmental Law Award
Endre Szalay
Gen. Maurice Hirsch Award
Tyler E. K. Maulsby
James A. Wysocki
Trial Advocacy Awards
Lara Richards
Ellen Forrester
H. Martin Hunley Award
in Health Care Law
Page Griffin
Louisiana State Bar Association
Corporate and Business Law Section Award
Benjamin Feldman
Louisiana State Bar Association Pro Bono Award
Rosanna Eugenio
Association for Women Attorneys Award
Elise Amacker
Brian McSherry Community Service Award
Donald Cassels III
Voted upon by members of the graduating law class,
two distinguished teaching awards are presented annually during the law school commencement ceremony.
Sandra Münzel de Queiroz is the 2011 recipient of
the Monte M. Lemann award, designated for a member
of the adjunct faculty.
Recognized as the most notable full-time faculty
member for the 2010–11 academic year was Admiralty
Law Institute Professor of Maritime Law Martin J.
Davies who received the Felix Frankfurter award.
LET US REJOICE!
COMMENCEMENT 2011
The Hon. Jacques Wiener Jr.
(L ’61) is the first to welcome
law students “to the ranks of
the Tulane law graduates.”
“ I A M P R O U D T H AT
YO U A R E O U R H O P E
FOR THE FUTURE.
T H E L E S S O N S YO U
LEARNED AND THE
E X P E R I E N C E S YO U
H A D AT T U L A N E A N D
IN NEW ORLEANS
ulane’s class of 2011 assembled May 12
to celebrate a rite of passage. In addition,
they heard an appeal of love from one of
the world’s greatest entertainers, Stevie Wonder,
a message of hope from a Pulitzer Prize–winning
journalist, Thomas Friedman, and a call to
confront their insecurities from their class speaker,
Christopher “Skip” Wilson (MBA candidate), who
was anything but insecure. Although the venue on
the unified front was different from previous years,
the ceremony was typical Tulane and typical New
Orleans with an added touch of Wonder.
Closer to home on the following day, friends
and family members beamed from the bleachers of
Fogelman Arena as Tulane Law School welcomed
T
nearly 270 worthy new graduates to its distinguished alumni circle. Specifically acknowledged
from that circle and seated before this year’s
graduates were eight members of the class of
1961, lauded for half a century of service to their
community, state, and nation. Among them, the
Honorable Jacques L. Wiener Jr. (L ’61), of
the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth
Circuit, delivered the keynote address, which he
concluded by stating, “Gaudeamus Igitur” (“So
let us rejoice”).
Hence, another commencement ceremony is in
the books and another crop of Tulane lawyers has
headed out to make a name in the world. We’ll
take one last look at Commencement 2011.
In addition to an impromptu performance
of “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” during
Tulane’s Unified Commencement Ceremony,
honorary degree recipient Stevie Wonder also
played harmonica to the song, “Do You Know
What It Means to Miss New Orleans?” and recited lyrics to a song he recently penned to benefit
those suffering from disasters in Haiti and Japan:
“On this day I fathom
Just how much could happen
For our world and everything above.
Lost could be all sorrow,
Joy we needn’t borrow
If 10 billion hearts were joined in love.”
W I L L H AV E A N I M PA C T
ON COMMUNITIES
W H E R E YO U L I V E A N D
WO R K I N T H E F U T U R E .
Y O U H AV E B E E N
E M P OW E R E D TO
T H E WO R L D.”
—Tulane President Scott Cowen
—Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist Thomas Friedman
FAL L 2 0 11 T UL A NE L AW Y E R
P O S I T I V E LY C H A N G E
“One of the things I love most about America is
that there is always someone here who just doesn’t
get the word. They didn’t get the word that new
immigrants are supposed to wait their turn; that
college dropouts are never supposed to start
something called Microsoft or Facebook; and that
people of color are supposed to go to the back of
the bus. So promise me that once you leave here
you won’t get the word about what you are not
supposed to try, where you are not supposed to
travel, what chance you’re not supposed to take,
what crazy dream you are not supposed to chase.
Just do it—whatever ‘it’ is—without fear.”
53
DEVELOPMENT
the most highly ranked law schools, each
has a large endowment. It enables those
schools to attract and retain the best faculty and students and that increases the
school’s reputation and ranking,”
Woodward says.
FUND-RAISING DOLLARS AT WORK
The rejuvenated development office has
set its sights on raising funds to support
numerous initiatives that strengthen
Tulane Law School and its students.
O N T H E ROA D AG A I N
S I X Y E A R S A F T E R H U R R I C A N E K AT R I N A , T U L A N E L AW S C H O O L’ S
D E V E L O P M E N T O F F I C E I S O N T H E M OV E , R E A C H I N G O U T T O
T U L A N E L AW YE R FA LL 20 11
A L U M N I A C R O S S T H E U N I T E D S T AT E S A N D G L O B E . By Mary Mouton (L ’90)
54
Shannon Woodward is getting a refresher
course on geography. It comes with
her new job as Senior Director of
Development of Tulane Law School.
Woodward has mapped out a strategy
to revive an office that has been understaffed severely since Katrina. For the
past six years, only two people carried
the load when it came to development
functions. The office has more than doubled in size and Woodward and her staff
are ready to hit the road in search of
alumni willing to help build the future
of Tulane Law School.
Woodward is personally covering
the southern half of the United States,
from California to Florida, and she has
assigned the rest of the contiguous 48 to
her team of five full-time development
and alumni professionals.
“This office is now in a position to
focus more on our alumni, wherever they
might be,” Woodward says. “Since the
storm, the Annual Fund was the law
school’s foremost fundraising priority.
The school relied on those important
dollars for day-to-day operations. The
Annual Fund provides dollars for faculty
support, student support, and programs,
but the account is depleted by year’s end.
While we’re still seeking Annual Fund
donations, we also want to grow our
endowment to provide funds in perpetuity,” she says.
The law school’s endowment is
approximately $20 million. Woodward
would like to double that amount in the
next 10 years. Woodward says a healthy
endowment is at the heart of every
esteemed law school. “If you look at
Support for Students—The law school
significantly expanded the assistance it
provides students as they prepare to enter
the job market. This year, 186 students
completed externships nationally and
internationally at nonprofits and government agencies. Last year, only 20 students participated and they were limited
to working in the New Orleans area.
Now, students may participate in programs outside of New Orleans to receive
valuable course credit. Currently, students bear the full cost of the unpaid
externships. Funds raised through the
development office would go toward
defraying some of those costs.
Proceeds from fund-raising efforts
will also help underwrite initiatives of
the Career Development Office that prepare students for career opportunities,
such as a recent trip to Texas where students met with alumni at various firms,
went on interviews, and were invited into
networking opportunities. And as always,
scholarships are also a major priority
for student support.
Endowed Chairs—An endowed chair
is the most prestigious honor bestowed
upon a faculty member. It helps retain
talented individuals and also attracts
those at the top of their field to Tulane
Law School. A chair typically requires
a gift of between $1.5 and $5 million.
Future endowed chairs may be established in areas such as Energy or
Corporate Law.
Endowed Professorships—Faculty
members can be rewarded for their talent
and effort with endowed professorships,
usually in a specific or emerging area of
law. An endowed professorship can be
funded with a donation of approximately
$250,000.
Faculty Research Support—Faculty
members typically spend their summers
researching and presenting their work at
high-profile conferences. The law school
would like to substantially increase the
$2,500 stipend Tulane faculty currently
receive, to increase their visibility and
to help them get the recognition they
deserve in their respective fields.
Left: Third-year law student Mariya Volzhskaya
(left) took advantage of the Tulane Law School
Summer 2011 Public Service Externship
program. Volzhskaya travelled to Bangkok,
Thailand, where she worked with UN ESCAP
(the United Nations Economic and Social
Commission for Asia and the Pacific).
It is one thing to ask for a $1,000
donation to the Annual Fund. It is quite
another to ask for $100,000 to grow the
endowment. Hence, the additional “manpower” to formulate that perfect pitch:
Shannon Woodward
Senior Director of
Development
swoodwar@tulane.edu
(504) 862-8559
“This is my Nirvana,”
says Shannon Woodward of the logical
next step that combines all her previous
experiences working in marketing,
management, and academia. The Tulane
alumna left New Orleans after Katrina
and says this job is “exactly what I
wanted to do.” Fate brought her back
to New Orleans. Shortly after Katrina,
she attended an event at which Tulane
University President Scott Cowen was
speaking. She introduced herself as a
fund-raiser to which he replied: “Why
aren’t you working for us?” Five years
later, she is.
Natalie Hooks
Development Officer
nkirsch@tulane.edu
Who better to traverse
Louisiana than a native?
Natalie Hooks grew
up in New Orleans, making her ideally
suited to crisscross the Bayou State.
“Louisiana is a major focus for us,” she
says. “I will spend time meeting alums
and reconnecting them to Tulane Law
School—from Shreveport to Pineville
to Lake Charles to Thibodaux and all
points in between.”
Emily Roberts
Director,
Law Annual Fund
erobert2@tulane.edu
Emily Roberts hopes
younger alums will jump
at the chance to become a Law Fellow,
the school’s most consistent and loyal
donors, at a reduced rate. Alums that
graduated within the last ten years can
become a Law Fellow with a $500 donation as opposed to the $1,500 minimum
donation. In addition to aiding your alma
mater, it entitles you to attend the festive
recognition event this spring.
Nicole DePietro
Senior Program
Coordinator
ndepietr@tulane.edu
(504) 865-5909
Nicole DePietro is
very often the first point of contact for
alumni. The Tulane graduate keeps the
development office running smoothly by
planning trips and sending acknowledgement letters to donors, among a long list
of other duties.
Ellen Brierre
Manager, Law School
Alumni Relations
ebrierre@tulane.edu
Now working on her
31st year at Tulane University and 25th
year spearheading law school alumni
relations, Ellen Brierre is vested with the
“institutional memory” of Tulane Law
School. You have no doubt run across
Ellen while attending a class reunion or
other alumni gathering. She is also keeper of the vaunted “class notes” that appear
at the back of every Tulane Lawyer. Got
news? Email ebrierre@tulane.edu.
H OW C A N YO U H E L P ?
Make a gift, large or small. The development office would be happy to discuss a
full range of giving opportunities.
Contact Shannon Woodward.
Host an alumni event out of town. Invite
Tulane alums and law students to your
home or law firm to share a common
experience and promote networking
among fellow Tulanians. Because Tulane
is designated a 501(c)3 corporation,
your donation is tax deductible.
Contact Ellen Brierre.
FALL 20 11 T UL A N E L AWY E R
Tulane Empowers—Tulane University
has embarked on a campaign to raise
funds to support programs that integrate
public service with academics. The
Tulane Law Clinics are a good example
of programs that empower individuals
while providing real world experience to
students. The law school’s Fellowship
Program is another avenue to empower
individuals in the community and law
students. Through the program, newly
graduated Tulane lawyers can spend their
first year out of school working for a
nonprofit or governmental agency. An
annual gift of $20,000 or endowment of
$350,000 funds a fellow for one year.
TEAM TULANE
55
T U L A N E L AW S C H O O L
HONOR ROLL OF DONORS
CLASS OF 1937
CLASS OF 1951
CLASS OF 1958
Mrs. Marian Mayer Berkett, LA, Fellow
Mr. Robert K. Mayo, LA
Mrs. Carmen Martinez Moore, CA,
Senior Fellow
Mr. Walter J. Suthon III, LA
Mr. Jack W. Thomson, MS, Fellow
Col. Terry W. Brown, SC
Mr. Balfour J. Halevy, Canada
Col. Jeron J. LaFargue, LA
Mrs. Margot Lampe Mazeau, VA
Mr. John A. Mmahat, LA
Mr. Thomas W. Staed, FL
CLASS OF 1939
The Hon. William A. Culpepper, LA
CLASS OF 1940
Mr. Abraham B. and Mrs. Jo-Ellyn
Kupperman, LA
CLASS OF 1952
The Hon. Peter H. Beer, LA
Mr. W. Mente and Mrs. Joan Durland
Benjamin, LA
Mr. Leslie L. and Mrs. Joan Gillis Inman, LA
Amb. John G. and Mrs. Virginia E. Weinmann,
LA, Senior Fellow
CLASS OF 1959
The Hon. Nestor L. Currault Jr., LA
Ms. Cindy Klegar Rosenberg, OR
Mr. Guyton H. Watkins, LA
Mr. Robert B. and Mrs. Greta L. Acomb Jr.,
LA, Fellow
Mr. James A. Mundie Jr., LA
Mr. Robert E. Rust, TX
Mr. Philip B. and Mrs. Allein H. Watson Jr.,
LA, Fellow
Mr. John H. and Mrs. Julia
Fowler Welsh Jr., TX
The Hon. C. Thomas and Mrs. Roberta
T. Bienvenu Jr., LA
The Hon. Jerry A. Brown, LA, Senior Fellow
Mr. Gerald C. Gex, MS
Mr. Henry W. Hooker, TN
Mr. William A. Hunter, TX
Mr. Charles W. Lane III, LA, Fellow
Mr. John M. and Mrs. Julie H. McCollam,
LA, Fellow
Mr. William W. and Mrs. Carol Cummins
Messersmith III, LA
Mr. W. Boyd Reeves, AL
Mr. Leon H. Rittenberg Jr., LA
Mr. George Rosetti Jr., MS
Mr. John F. and Mrs. Louise A. Simon, LA
CLASS OF 1947
CLASS OF 1954
CLASS OF 1960
Mr. Haynes L. and Mrs. Barbara Harkey Jr., LA
Mr. John F. Latham, LA
Mr. Donald L. Ferguson, SC
Mr. R.S. and Mrs. Hellen Troy Mellon, CA
Mr. Donald P. Miller, VA
Mr. James F. Pinner Sr., LA
Mr. D. Grove Stafford Jr., LA
Mr. Richard O. Werlein, TX
Mr. Johnson H. Wong, HI
Mr. Bernard E. Burk, FL
Mr. David L. Campbell, LA, Senior Fellow
The Hon. W. Eugene Davis, LA, Fellow
Mr. Joseph E. Friend, LA
Mr. John B. and Mrs. Julia Claverie Gooch Jr.,
LA, Fellow
Mr. James W. Hailey Jr., LA
Mr. Richard M. Janopaul, OK
Dr. Ulrich Knolle, Germany
Mr. Ernest L. and Mrs. Mina J. O’Bannon, LA
Mr. John M. Page Jr., LA
Mr. Sidney F. Rothschild, OR
Mr. Ross Scaccia, LA
Mr. Leonard A. Washofsky, LA
Mr. Jack M. Webb, TX
CLASS OF 1942
The Hon. Kaliste J. and Mrs. Yvonne
N. Saloom, LA, Fellow
CLASS OF 1944
Mrs. Charlotte Morse Ashley Herman, AR
CLASS OF 1945
Mr. Ira M. and Mrs. Betty Bloch Kohn, LA
CLASS OF 1946
CLASS OF 1948
Mr. William K. Self Jr., LA
CLASS OF 1949
Mr. Jack Bremermann, MD
Mr. Edward M. Heller, LA
Mr. C. Murphy Moss Jr., VA
The Hon. Thomas C. Wicker Jr., LA
CLASS OF 1950
Mr. Jack C. and Mrs. Clare Abrahm Benjamin
Sr., LA, Fellow
Mr. Walter Carroll Jr., LA, Fellow
The Hon. Philip C. Ciaccio, LA
Mr. William K. and Mrs. Mary Louise Mossy
Christovich, LA, Senior Fellow
Mr. Joseph J. Jacobs, FL
Mr. William M. Lucas Jr., LA
Mr. Joseph W. and Mrs. Bertha W. Nelkin, MD
Capt. W. Dean Pfeiffer, VA
Mr. Michel Olivier Provosty, LA
56
CLASS OF 1953
CLASS OF 1955
Mrs. Miriam Mc Dermott Miller, VA
Mr. Albert Mintz, LA
Mrs. Linda Barnett Mintz, LA
Mr. D. Ryan Sartor Jr., LA, Fellow
CLASS OF 1956
Mr. Daniel V. Blackstock, CA
Mr. Joseph A. Ettinger, AZ
Mr. Abraham P. Friedman, TX
CLASS OF 1957
Mrs. Jane F. Asher, IL
Mr. John A. Bernard, LA, Fellow
The Hon. Martin L. C. Feldman, LA, Fellow
Col. Robert S. Poydasheff, GA
Mr. Robert L. Redfearn Sr., LA, Dean’s Fellow
Mr. Sylvan J. Steinberg, LA, Fellow
Mr. Charles D. Viccellio, LA
CLASS OF 1961
The Hon. Kenneth Boagni Jr., LA
Mr. Burnell S. Goodrich, TX
The Hon. Jacob L. Karno, LA
Mr. J. Dwight and Jane Janssen LeBlanc Jr.,
LA, Fellow
The Hon. F.A. Little Jr., LA
Mr. Charles K. Mallory, MD
The Hon. Clarence E. McManus, LA
Mr. William D. Meriwether Jr., LA
Mr. John D. Potts, OH
Mr. Jorge L. Valdivieso Jr., PR
The Hon. Jack B. Weldy, MS, Fellow
Mr. James E. and Mrs. George Ann
Hider Wesner, OH, Fellow
The Hon. Jacques L. Wiener Jr. and
Ms. Sandra M. Feingerts, LA, Fellow
Mr. Phillip A. Wittmann, LA
CLASS OF 1962
Mr. Bernard H. and Mrs. Jane Z. Berins, LA
Mrs. Janet S. Freund, DE
Mr. Harvey J. and Mrs. Gail Wolf Lewis, LA
Mr. O. Doyle Martin, SC
Gen. William K. Suter, VA, Fellow
CLASS OF 1963
Mr. James A. Churchill Sr., MS
The Hon. Jimmy N. Dimos, LA
Mr. W. Gerald Gaudet, LA
Mr. Gene H. Godbold, FL, Fellow
Mr. Campbell C. and Mrs. Allison Stewart
Hutchinson, LA
Mr. Sam A. LeBlanc III, LA
Mr. Augustine and Mrs. Mary Lou
Meaher III, AL, Dean’s Fellow
Mr. Stephen T. McMurtry, KY, Fellow
The Hon. J. Frederick Michela, FL
CLASS OF 1964
Mr. Gordon P. Bienvenu, LA
Mr. Joseph D. Cascio Jr., LA
Mr. Richard M. Currence, LA, Senior Fellow
Mr. Harry L. Hopkins, AL, Fellow
Dr. Jerry L. Mashaw Sr., CT, Fellow
Mr. Sam S. Miller, NY,
Henry Adams Bullard Fellow
Mr. Grant E. Mitchell, MD
Mr. John M. and Mrs. Lesley E. Senker, GA
The Hon. Jerome M. Winsberg, LA
CLASS OF 1965
Mr. Wayne J. and Mrs. Caroline
M. Bienvenu, LA
Mr. George M. Cleland III, NC,
Senior Fellow
Mr. Gerald N. Craig, TX, Senior Fellow
Mr. Michael R. Eubanks, MS
Mr. Louis Y. Fishman, LA, Fellow
Mr. Emon A. Mahony Jr., AR, Dean’s Fellow
Mr. Ralph C. McCullough II, SC
Mr. R. King Milling Sr., LA
Mr. William D. and Mrs. Doris
R. Norman Jr., LA
Professor Vernon V. Palmer, LA
Mr. Marc L. Peterzell, GA
Mr. Kenneth C. Pollock, GA
Mr. M. David Stirling, CA
Mr. Thomas R. Strubbe, FL
Mr. John D. Wallace, NH
CLASS OF 1966
Mr. Herschel Abbott, LA, Dean’s Fellow
Professor John J. Barcelo III, NY
Col. James R. Barrow, WA
Mr. Robert A. Buettner, AL, Senior Fellow
Mr. Gerald L. De Blois, LA
The Hon. Oswald Decuir Jr., LA
Mr. Albert J. Derbes III, LA
Mr. Robert B. and Mrs. Hervey
Graham Folsom Jr., AL
Mr. Ronald L. and Mrs. Katherine Groves,
MA, Senior Fellow
Mr. Russ M. Herman, LA
Mr. Arthur L. and Mrs. Janice L. Herold,
MD, Fellow
Mr. L.V. McGinty Jr., KY
Mr. Conrad Meyer IV, LA
Mr. Arthur B. and Mrs. Marcia P. Monroe, NY
Mr. Wallace H. Paletou, LA
Mr. John R. Schupp, AL
Mr. Howard J. Smith Jr., LA
The Hon. William J. Smith, GA
Mr. Donald M. Waits, MS
CLASS OF 1967
Mr. J. Kent Friedman, TX, Senior Fellow
Mr. John G. Loftin, LA
Mr. Edward F. Martin, LA
Mr. Terry H. Miller Sr., LA
Mr. James R. Nieset, LA, Fellow
Mr. John A. Peterson, FL
Mr. Alfred L. Price, MS
Mr. David J. Rutkowski, MO
Mrs. Laura Herring Tanner, CA
T U L A N E L AW F E L L OW S S O C I E T Y
The Tulane Law Fellows Society is the prestigious leadership group of Tulane law alumni
that work together to make a difference in the future of Tulane Law School. Investments in
the future of Tulane Law School through the Tulane Law Annual Fund are recognized at the
following levels:
F E L L OW
SE N I O R F E L L OW
DE A N ’ S F E L L OW
HEN RY A DA M S BUL L A R D F E L L OW
$1,500–2,499
$2,500–4,999
$5,000–9,999
$10,000 or more
Mr. Robert A. Vosbein, LA, Fellow
Mr. Lanny R. Zatzkis, LA, Fellow
CLASS OF 1968
Mr. Oscar W. Boswell II, LA
Mr. Philip J. Bray, MD
Mr. William S. Cross, LA
Mr. Ernest L. Edwards Jr., LA, Fellow
Mr. William R. Forrester Jr., LA, Fellow
Mr. Maury A. Herman, LA
Mr. Ted Nass, LA
Mr. James M. Petersen, LA
Mr. Howard J. Smith Jr., LA
Mr. Frank M. Wagar, LA, Fellow
Mr. Philip L. Washburn, NY
CLASS OF 1969
Mr. Donald R. Abaunza, LA, Fellow
Mr. Charles B. Angulo, GA
Mr. Galen S. Brown, LA
Mr. John O. Charrier Jr., LA
Mr. Michael M. Fleishman, KY, Senior Fellow
Mr. Carlos M. Franco, PR
Mr. M. H. Gertler, LA, Fellow
Mr. Charles B. and Mrs. Cameron
Kock Mayer, LA
Mr. Norman J. Silber, FL
Mr. John P. Sullivan, LA
Mr. G. Hampton Uzzelle III, AL
Mr. W. W. van Benthuysen Jr., LA
Mr. Calvin R. Watson, VA, Senior Fellow
CLASS OF 1970
Mr. Jack M. and Mrs. Phyllis Ziff Alltmont,
LA, Fellow
Mr. Charles V. Bonin, NJ
The Hon. Anthony S. Borwick, MD
Mr. Madison Cockman Jr., FL
Mr. Gerald R. Cooper, LA, Fellow
Mr. William G. Duck, CA, Fellow
Mr. Gordon Gamm, Esq., CO, Dean’s Fellow
Mr. Harry S. and Mrs. Ellen L. Hardin III,
LA, Fellow
Mr. Donald W. Jones, TN
Mr. Peter Scott Michell, LA
Mr. Edward D. Myrick, LA
Ms. Sharon A. Perlis, LA
Mr. Ashton Phelps Jr., LA, Fellow
Mr. John C. Stewart Jr., SC
Mr. John N. Wiles, MO
CLASS OF 1971
Mr. Denis G. Bandera, TX, Fellow
Mr. Keith E. Bell, PA
Mr. Robert R. Casey, LA
Mr. Reuben I. Friedman, LA, Dean’s Fellow
Mr. Robert M. Hearin Jr., LA
Mr. David A. Kerstein, LA,
Henry Adams Bullard Fellow
Mr. Elon A. and Mrs. Phyllis
Gutterman Pollack, CA
Mr. John S. Steiner, MO
Law graduates of the last decade are recognized as Fellows based on a set of reduced-giving thresholds.
57
CLASS OF 1972
Mr. Darryl D. Berger, LA,
Henry Adams Bullard Fellow
Mr. Ronald T. Carroll, MA
Mr. Ronald E. Gurtler, FL
Mr. David F. and Mrs. Catherine
Hagaman Edwards, LA
Mr. Mac W. Hancock III, TX, Senior Fellow
Mr. Rainer Lorenz, LA
Mr. Robert L. and Mrs. Brenda Bohrer
Manard III, LA, Dean’s Fellow
Mr. Colvin G. Norwood Jr., LA, Dean’s Fellow
Mr. Andrew L. Plauche Jr., LA
Mr. S. Roger Rombro, CA
Mr. Richard P. and Mrs. Jan Tootle Salloum,
MS, Dean’s Fellow
Professor Cynthia E. Samuel, Dean’s Fellow
Mr. Irvin L. Tankersley, TN
Mr. George H. Troxell III, LA
CLASS OF 1973
Mr. Glenn R. Abel, CA
Mr. Philip O. Allen, FL
Mr. Terrel J. Broussard, LA
Mr. Michael L. Coleman, IL
Mr. Ronald L. and Mrs. Jan S. Coleman, TN
Mr. Gregory M. Eaton, LA, Fellow
Mr. Ronald J. Fahrenbacher, WI
Mr. Robert B. Fisher Jr., LA, Fellow
Mr. David B. Kesler, TN
The Hon. Tucker L. Melancon, LA
Mr. C. Donald Shlimbaum, NY
Mr. Walter B. Stuart IV, NY, Fellow
CLASS OF 1974
Mr. Jeffrey P. Altman, VA
The Hon. George T. Anagnost, AZ, Henry
Adams Bullard Fellow
Mr. William F. Bologna, LA
Mrs. Hattie M. Broussard, LA
Mr. Roy C. Cheatwood, LA, Fellow
Mr. Arthur A. Crais Jr., LA, Senior Fellow
Mr. Terrence J. Gaffney, WI
Mrs. Gail H. Goheen, MT
Mr. David L. and Mrs. Karen S. Hedden,
OH, Fellow
Mr. Farrell D. Hockemeier, MO
Mr. Wayne J. Lee, LA, Fellow
Ms. Julia Elizabeth Maynard, England, UK
Mr. Jan Schoonmaker, DC, Fellow
Mrs. Lark Rand Shlimbaum, NY
Mr. William E. and Mrs. Alice
Marquez Wright Jr., LA
CLASS OF 1975
Mr. Joseph M. Aspray Jr., NJ
Mrs. Carolyn Aiken Chestnutt, LA
Mr. Terence S. Cooke, VA
Ms. Margaret Duplantier, TX, Fellow
Mr. Bruce Feingerts, LA
Ms. Madeleine Fischer, LA
Mr. Matthew Greenbaum, LA, Fellow
Mr. Anton G. Hajjar, MD
Mr. Robert D. Hertzberg, FL, Fellow
58
Ms. Ellyn D. Kessler, NY
Ms. Betsy A. Lambert, NY
Mr. Edward F. LeBreton III, LA, Fellow
Mr. Daryl P. McDonald, MI
Mr. Michael J. McManus, VA, Senior Fellow
Mrs. George Ann Hayne Peters, LA
Mr. William F. and Mrs. Pamela
Reynolds Ryan, LA
Mr. Sidney M. Segall, Esq., NY
Mr. Sanford Teplitzky, MD, Fellow
Mr. Thomas Robert Trotter, OH
Mr. Kenneth Weiss, LA, Fellow
CLASS OF 1976
Mr. C. William Bradley Jr., LA, Fellow
Mr. James H. Cain Jr., NE
Mr. Barry M. Glenn, FL, Fellow
The Hon. Jo Ellen Grant, LA
Mr. James C. Gulotta Jr., LA, Dean’s Fellow
Mr. R. David and Mrs. Jean
B. Hendrickson, AL
Mr. Robert C. Hinckley, CA, Dean’s Fellow
Mr. W. Campbell Hudson III, CT
Mrs. Rose McCabe LeBreton, LA, Fellow
Mr. Joseph W. Looney, LA
Ms. Nancy P. McCarthy and Mr. Michael
Lawson, CA, Fellow
Mr. Michael J. and Mrs. Suzanne T. Mestayer,
LA, Dean’s Fellow
Mr. Robert B. Phelps, LA
Mr. Paul A. Schouw, WA
Mr. Leopold Z. Sher, LA, Dean’s Fellow
Mr. Lafe E. Solomon, MD
Mrs. Evelyn Pugh Thompson, LA, Fellow
Mr. Irving J. Warshauer, LA
CLASS OF 1977
Mr. Van R. Boyette, LA
Mr. Louis P. Britt III, TN
Ms. Laura Junge Carman, LA
Mr. John W. Colbert, LA, Dean’s Fellow
Mr. John C. Herbert, TX
Mr. Ralph S. Hubbard III, LA
Mr. John C. and Mrs. Rachel W. Kilpatrick,
TX, Dean’s Fellow
Mr. James W. Lance, NJ
Mr. Alan and Mrs. Sherry Leventhal, MA,
Dean’s Fellow
Mr. James L. and Mrs. Susan A. McCulloch,
TX, Dean’s Fellow
Ms. Regina B. Meadows, LA
Mr. Jack E. Mensching, IL
Mr. James Q. Mery, AK
Mrs. Carole Cukell Neff, LA
Mr. Kevin Robshaw, LA
Mrs. Karen B. Sher, LA, Dean’s Fellow
Mr. Lloyd N. Shields, LA, Senior Fellow
Mr. Gregory C. and Mrs. Mary D. Thomas,
TX, Dean’s Fellow
Mr. Casey and Mrs. Constance C. Willems,
LA, Fellow
Mr. Marc J. and Mrs. Ellen S. Yellin, LA
CLASS OF 1978
Mr. Ronald L. Book, FL, Senior Fellow
Mr. James F. Booth, MS, Dean’s Fellow
Dr. Ronald L. and Mrs. Nancy
Fisher Fellman, TX
Mr. Edward N. George, LA, Dean’s Fellow
Mr. John H. Guinan Jr., MN
Mr. D. Christopher Heckman,
TX, Senior Fellow
Ms. Miriam A. Howe, IL
Mr. Phillip L. and Mrs. Carol Sergeant
Husband, DC
Mr. Claude E. Johnston, NY, Fellow
Mr. James M. and Mrs. Sally Huger
Lapeyre Jr., LA, Senior Fellow
Mr. R. Lewis and Ms. Victoria Knight
McHenry, LA
Mrs. Mary Coffey Moss, VA
Mr. Robert B. Neblett III, TX, Fellow
Mr. Glenn P. Orgeron, LA
Mr. Alan J. Pinner, CA
Mr. Michael Alan Pollack, WI
Mr. Gerald F. and Mrs. Deborah
R. Slattery Jr., LA, Fellow
Mr. Stephen R. Sugrue, CT
The Hon. Sarah S. Vance, LA, Senior Fellow
CLASS OF 1979
Mr. William P. and Mrs. Margaret
S. Benjamin, NC
Mr. G. Robert Collier Jr., LA
Mr. Vaughan O. Fitzpatrick, LA, Fellow
Mr. Wayne Greenberg, CO
Ms. AlmaLee “Lisa” Payne Guttshall,
TX, Senior Fellow
Mr. Henry W. Hicks, FL
Ms. Dodge Hobson, LA
Mr. James P. Lazar, TX, Fellow
Ms. Virginia Thompson Munford, MS
Mr. Thomas P. Nash IV, NC
Mr. Douglas B. Riley, MD
Ms. Avis Marie Russell, MD
Mr. William K. Self Jr., TN
Mr. Phillip D. Telford, TX
Mr. Jeffrey B. Thomas, TX
Mrs. Annabelle H. Walker, LA
Mr. Charles L. Whited Jr., LA
Mr. Richard C. Wingate, NY
Mrs. JoAnn L. Zuercher, MD
CLASS OF 1980
Ms. Susan S. Canavello, LA
Mr. Shane C. Carew, WA
Mr. Larry R. Chulock, FL
Mr. John M. Duck, LA, Fellow
Ms. Susan G. Duncan, NY
Mr. Roger C. Edwards Jr., LA
Mrs. Kathleen M. Fleming, AL
Mr. Thomas Keasler Foutz, LA
Dr. Charles G. and Mrs. Cathy Schatz Glaser,
LA, Senior Fellow
Professor David R. Katner, LA
Mr. Dan A. Kusnetz, NY, Dean’s Fellow
The Hon. Gerald Lebovits, NY
Mr. Jack T. and Mrs. Melanie
Miller Lewis, TX
Mr. Joseph Nelson Mayer and
Ms. Kimberly Diamond, LA
The Hon. Viktor V. Pohorelsky, NY
Ms. Susan Brooks Raburn, NM
Mr. Richard A. Sabalot, LA
Mr. Paul D. Streicher, IL
Mr. R. Tate Young, TX
Mr. George R. Zacharkow, PA
CLASS OF 1981
Mr. Brent Barriere and Ms. Judy Y. Barrasso,
LA, Dean’s Fellow
The Hon. Herbert J. Baumann Jr., FL, Fellow
Mr. Marc N. Blumenthal, IL
Mr. Andrew A. and Mrs. Joy
Goldberg Braun, LA
Mr. Jethro S. Busch, Esq., CA
Mr. Stanley J. Cohn, LA
Mr. Randall M. and Mrs. Ricki S. Ebner,
TX, Fellow
Mr. James D. Farris, TN
Mr. Bennett G. Fisher, TX
Ms. Glynis M. Fisher, MD
Mr. Martin M. Freeman, MD
Mr. Pierre F. Gaudin Jr., LA
Mr. Jon A. Gegenheimer, LA
Mr. Peter J. Gutowski, NJ
Mrs. Helen Wilson Hubley, LA
Ms. Margaret A. Keenan, MA
Mr. Michael and Mrs. Lindsay E. Lanaux, LA
Ms. Lynn Luker, LA, Fellow
Dr. Robert L. and Mrs. Joanne
Cain Marier, LA
Mr. Jonathan Markowitz and Ms. Ruth
F. Wenger, IL
Mr. Bernie J. Pistillo Jr.,
NY, Henry Adams Bullard Fellow
Mr. David B. and Mrs. Cindy Pogrund, IL
Mrs. Trudy Prince Saad, LA
Mr. Camilo K. Salas, LA, Senior Fellow
Mr. Ross E. Shacklette, LA
Mr. James R. Silverstein, LA
Ms. Susan G. Talley, LA, Dean’s Fellow
Ms. Carol A. Vernon, TX
Ms. D. Jean Veta and Ms. Mary Ann Dutton,
MD, Senior Fellow
Mrs. Kristin H. White, TX
Mr. Carter B. Wright, LA
CLASS OF 1982
Mr. Richard S. Ackerman, CA
Dr. Mike and Mrs. Martha H. Ayres, TN
Ms. Cherry Joy Beysselance, MD
Ms. Rita M. Bolger, NY
The Hon. Ramy I. Djerassi, PA
Mrs. Julie Livaudais George, LA,
Dean’s Fellow
Mr. Marvin L. and Mrs. Dorothy S. Jacobs,
LA, Henry Adams Bullard Fellow
Mr. David J. Krebs, LA, Fellow
Mr. Ira M. Long Jr., TN
Ms. Carla M. Martin, NY, Senior Fellow
Ms. Elaine Flud Rodriguez, TX
W I L L I A M T E T L E Y E N D OW S
M A R I T I M E L AW L E C T U R E
ulane University Law School is honored to announce a gift of $75,000 by
Professor William “Bill” Tetley, C.M., Q.C. Prof. Tetley’s gift will be used to
endow the annual William Tetley Maritime Law Lecture at Tulane, supporting the
expenses of the lecture in perpetuity. A longtime supporter of Tulane Law School,
Bill Tetley is a professor at McGill University, a leading figure in maritime law, and a frequent visitor to Tulane through the years.
Speaking on behalf of the law school, Dean David Meyer said Tetley’s generosity deeply
touched the law community.
“Prof. Tetley has been a dear friend of Tulane law for many years and is held in the highest
esteem by his friends and colleagues here,” Dean Meyer stated. “This endowment gift in support of the William Tetley Lecture will ensure that future generations of Tulane students and
faculty continue to be touched by his wise and generous spirit.”
In addition to his impact on scholarship, the lecture was established in 1999 to honor
Tetley for his distinguished service to the law school’s maritime program and to the international maritime community. Tetley is credited for teaching a mini-course at Tulane for 14
consecutive years, then visiting to give seminars to law students about recent developments
in international maritime law.
In recent correspondence to secure the endowment, Tetley paid homage to the lecture.
“I have been honored for many years by the annual William Tetley Maritime Law Lecture,”
he wrote. “I have also been honored to be a lecturer at Tulane Law School for years and was
especially overcome when Tulane named the lecture series after me a few years ago.”
T
Mrs. Adele S. Siegmund, VA
Mr. Daniel A. and Mrs. Diane
Cutler Shapiro, MA
CLASS OF 1983
Dean Gail Agrawal, IA
Mr. George Denègre Jr., LA
Mr. Lewis S. Frank, LA
Ms. Meredith L. Hathorn, LA, Fellow
Mr. Nathan Ples Horner Jr., LA
Mr. Yih-Feng Huang, Taiwan, Fellow
Dr. Patricia Spencer Krebs, LA, Fellow
Mr. LeRoy Lambert III, NJ
Lt. Col. Lance Mathew Lisle, WA
Mr. Marc M. and Mrs. Kay
Breaux Livaudais, LA
Mr. Jacob J. and Mrs. Kim W. Munch, FL
Mr. James L. Rice III, TX, Senior Fellow
Mr. W. Kent Robertson Jr., LA
Mr. Perry J. and Mrs. Gerolyn Roussel Jr.,
LA, Senior Fellow
Mr. Jeffrey H. Sands, NJ
Mr. James Allan Stuckey, LA
Ms. Sallye G. Webb, LA
CLASS OF 1984
Ms. Katherine E. Bailey, VA
Ms. Ashley L. Belleau, LA
Ms. Cynthia A. Berman, MD
Mr. J. James Cooper, TX
Mr. Leonard A. Davis, LA
Mrs. Vicki K. Haberman, NY
Mrs. Pamela R. Hanebutt, IL, Fellow
Mr. Benjamin F. Marshall IV, LA
Mr. Eric J. Mayer, TX, Dean’s Fellow
Ms. Anne Segrest McCulloch,
VA, Senior Fellow
Ms. Tondra G. Netherton, LA
Mr. Gregg A. Porter, LA
Mr. Pirapan Salirathavibhaga, Thailand
Mr. Gordon P. Serou, LA
Mr. R. Andrew Taggart Jr., MS, Fellow
Mrs. Sarah Eckert Webb, MD
Mr. Jack M. and Mrs. Ann L. Willhelm, TX
CLASS OF 1985
Mr. Ryan Acomb, LA
Mrs. Lois Ragsdale Alkire, FL
Ms. Marie E. Breaux, LA
Mr. Christian T. Brown, LA
Mr. Andrew V. Buchsbaum, NY
Mr. Joseph L. and Mrs. Dianne L. Caverly, LA
Mrs. Martha Tisdale Cordell, OK
Mr. Daniel W. Cronin, MA
Mr. Frank N. Cusimano III, TX
Mr. Michael Delesdernier, LA
Mr. James H. Ferguson, TN
Mr. Evan M. Fogelman, TX
Mr. John F. Freeborn, FL
Mr. J. Thomas Hamrick Jr., LA
Mr. Stephen G. Howe, MD
Mr. Matthew P. LeCorgne, LA
59
Mr. Sidney F. Lewis V, LA
Mr. Stephen D. Marx, LA
Mr. Patrick B. McIntire, LA
Mrs. Karen A. Meyer, ID
Mr. Bennett A. Midlo, TX
Mrs. Catherine M. Owen, MD
Mr. Bruce G. Paulsen, NY
Mr. Robert L. Redfearn Jr., LA
Mr. Samuel F. Reynolds Jr., PA
Mr. Samuel M. and Mrs. Laura Marie
Rosamond III, LA
Mr. Peter B. Sloss, LA
Mr. R. Keith Jarrett and Mrs. Holly Ann
Swanner-Jarrett, LA
Mrs. Kelly Kemp Thorson, OH
Mr. Joseph B. Treuting, LA
Mr. Eric H. Weimers, IL
Mr. Stephen D. Wheelis, LA
Ms. Lizbeth Ann Turner and Mr. Clarence
D. Wolbrette, LA, Fellow
CLASS OF 1986
Mr. Orr Adams Jr., LA
Mr. H. Edwin Anderson III, TX
Mr. William F. Barry IV, FL
Mrs. Ann Gorton Boyd, VA
Mr. J. Robert Bratman, NJ
Mr. Milton E. and Mrs. Eileen G. Brener, NY
Mr. Allan C. Breslin, LA
Dr. Donald N. and Mrs. Maryann L. Cote, GA
Mr. Brooke H. Duncan III, LA, Fellow
Mrs. Elizabeth Garber-Miller, MA
Mr. Simon P. Harter, NJ
Ms. Cynthia C. Le Bourgeois, LA
Mrs. Jennafer M. Litchewski, VA
Mr. David M. Rubin, CA
Ms. Michelle K. Schmidt, TX
Mr. Jeffrey M. Schwartz, NY
Mr. Lawrence D. Sharp, TX
Mrs. Susannah Crego Violino, CT
Mr. Clint Williamson, DC
CLASS OF 1987
Mr. Robert L. Abell, KY
Mr. John P. Campbell III, TN
Mrs. Harvetta S. Colvin, LA
Mr. Owen B. and Mrs. Dana S. Cooper, DC
Mrs. Sabrina Little DiMichele, TX
Mr. Richard B. and Mrs. Leslie
Weill Ehret, LA
Mrs. Cornelia H. Gates, TX
Mrs. Ellen Keezer Greenberg, NJ
Mr. John J. Hainkel III, LA
Mr. Paul A. Lea Jr., LA
Mr. Travis C. McCullough, TX, Dean’s Fellow
Mr. Chris G. Outlaw, CO, Fellow
Ms. Alba Romano, PA
Mr. John L. Rosenthal, CA
Mr. Alan J. and Mrs. Kathryn Helen Stone,
DE, Senior Fellow
Mr. Robert B. Tudor III, TX, Dean’s Fellow
Ms. Ann E. Webb, TX
Mr. Andrew D. and Mrs. Marion W.
Weinstock, LA
Ms. Gwendolyn Wilson, UT
60
CLASS OF 1988
CLASS OF 1993
Mr. Lee R. Adler, LA
Mr. Paul P. Bolus, AL, Fellow
Mrs. Allain Provosty Collins, MA
Ms. Nancy M. Galib, VA
Mr. Michael W. Mogil, SC
Ms. Amy L. Barton, NY
Ms. Pamela A. Bourque, AL
Mrs. Jennifer Boston, PA
Ms. Kathleen B. Carr, MA
Ms. S. Nina Gellert, NY
Ms. Amy S. Goldstein, NY
Mr. Christopher R. Graham, GA
Mr. Robert E. Lancaster, LA
Mr. Benjamin A. Luke, LA
Mrs. Marcy V. Massengale, GA
Mrs. Carmen Miller, ND
Ms. Marni R. Robin, CT
Mr. C. Russell H. Shearer, VA
Mr. Eric D. Suben, NY
Mr. Gary Zanfagna, NJ
CLASS OF 1989
Mr. Gerald M. Baca, TX
Ms. Cecily Ellzey Bateman, LA
Mr. Sean A. Cottle, CA
Mr. Stephen J. Dennis, RI
Mr. Stanley M. Kallianidis, MA
Ms. Kathy L. Manchester, LA
Mrs. Kris Malachias McGee, TX
Ms. Sarah E. Robertson, CA
Mrs. Valerie Turner Schexnayder, LA
Mrs. Nancy Selzer, LA
Mr. Robert B. Staley, LA
Mr. Donald B. and Mrs. Kathleen Wiener,
LA, Fellow
Mr. A. Christopher Young, PA
CLASS OF 1990
Mr. Thomas J. Boagni, LA
Mr. David E. and Mrs. Lisa Kaas Boyle, CA
Mr. Alec Y. Chang, CA, Senior Fellow
Mrs. Monique Gaudin Gardner, LA
Ms. Shannon E. Hager, WA
Mr. James J. Kenney III, TX
Mr. Rick K. Lee, Taiwan
Mr. Michael R. Littenberg, NY, Fellow
Mrs. Kristin S. Mackert, VA
Mr. Robert A. Nadler, CA
Mr. Matthew Pifer, VT
Mr. Michael D. Rubenstein, TX, Dean’s Fellow
Mr. Arthur P. Zapolski, NJ
CLASS OF 1991
Ms. Angela M. Bowlin, LA
Mrs. Patricia E. Campbell-Smith, DC
Mrs. Linda P. Clark, LA
Mr. John M. Donnelly Jr., MA
Mr. Grady S. and Mrs. Toni L. Hurley, LA
Mr. Luis A. Leitzelar, LA
Mr. Jeffery D. Morgan, LA
Ms. Jacquelyn Morton, LA
Mr. Louis L. Plotkin, LA
Mr. R. Peter Rittling, CA
Mr. A. Lester and Mrs. Carol Cilluffa Sarpy, LA
Mr. Jeffrey E. and Mrs. Robin
Truesdell Sher, TX
Mr. Robert U. and Mrs. Angela
B. Simmons, NC
Mr. Steven M. Stastny, AL
CLASS OF 1992
Mr. John D. Charbonnet Jr., TX
Mr. Gladstone N. Jones III, NY
Mr. Jonathan K. Pollack, NY
Mr. Daniel H. Raddock, VT
Mr. Gregory L. Ernst and Professor Stacy
E. Seicshnaydre, LA
Mr. Warren K. Zola, MA
CLASS OF 1994
Mrs. Meg Madoc-Jones Bissinger, TX
Mr. Carlos A. and Mrs. Jennifer
B. Gavilondo, NY
Mr. C. Clayton Gill, ID
Ms. Patricia Kojima, CA
Mr. Thad N. Leach, MO, Fellow
CLASS OF 1995
Mrs. Patricia Graves Hubbard, TX
Mr. Martins I. Imudia, LA
Mrs. Jenifer A. Kelly-Strauss and
Mr. David A. Strauss, LA
Mr. Peter A. Lowy, TX
Ms. Michele M. Merkel, MD
Mr. James E. Nelson, NY
Ms. Janet P. Peyton, VA
Mr. Hector A. Pineda, TX
Mr. Daniel L. Regard II, DC
Mr. John W. Sinnott, LA
Mr. Larry Stuart, TX
Mr. Jim Thelen, MI
Mr. J. Wilbourn Vise, MS, Fellow
CLASS OF 1996
Mr. Nicholas J. Arena, MA
Mr. Steven E. and Mrs. Aimee
Kullman Bain, LA
Mr. Owen and Mrs. Kathryn W. Drey, AL
Mrs. Erica Ress Martin, NY
Ms. Melissa L. Mayer, CA
CLASS OF 1997
Mrs. Sarah G. Altschul, CT
Mr. Walter C. Arfons II, OH
Mr. Michael R. Bell, NY
Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey B. Carra, VA
Ms. Mari J. Clark, AZ
Ms. Christie J. Foster and Mr. Edward
D. Muns, KY
Mr. Eric A. Long, CA
Mr. David C. Rieveschl, LA
Mr. John B. Noland Jr., LA
Ms. Tandy M. O’Donoghue, CT
Ms. Michelle A. Ryan and
Mr. Dean P. Land, OR
Ms. Jennifer L. Saine and
Mr. David M. Griff, NY
Mr. Roy G. Spurbeck and Ms. Morgan
L. Halcomb, MN
Mr. Jimmy B. Wilkins, MS
CLASS OF 1998
Mr. Hugo V. Alvarez, FL
Mr. Joseph P. Corcoran, DC
Mr. Richard and Mrs. Candice
Frembling Dykhuizen, TX
Ms. Allison S. Gassner, VA
Mr. Michael D. Karno, LA
Mr. Gary N. Merson, DC
Mr. J. Eric Miles, TN
Mr. Thomas B. Nachbar, VA
Mr. Tristan Ernest Propst, TX
Dr. Noaman W. Siddiqi and Ms. Kerry
A. Ryan, MO
Mr. Lance S. Tolson, TX
Mrs. Deborah Clarke Trejo, TX
CLASS OF 1999
Mr. Eric B. Berger, LA
Mrs. Pauline Gammons Feist, LA
Ms. Kathleen A. Harrison, LA
Mr. Clinton J. Helmke, TX
Mr. Kevin A. Pollock, NJ
Mrs. Gabrielle Elaine Reeves, AL
Mr. Jon M. Richter, PA
Mr. John B. Shortess, LA
Mr. Thomas T. Toland Jr., NY
Mr. Gregory A. Toney, LA
CLASS OF 2000
Mr. Joshua P. Blumberg, NY
Ms. Ruth Ann E. Castro, CA
Mr. Churchill H.D. Hooff, VA
Mrs. Ali L. Karshan, NY
Mrs. Loren M. Marino, LA
Mr. John S. and Mrs. Kristin Gasser Misso,
TX, Senior Fellow
Mr. Sean A. O’Neal, NY
Ms. Sheila L. Pearson, PA
Mr. Marc J. Reeves, NY
Ms. Laura R. Starling, MD
Ms. Mariestella B. Templo, NJ
CLASS OF 2001
Ms. Amy E. Allums, LA
Mr. Jorge Almonte, VA
Ms. Valerie Briggs Bargas, LA
Mr. Thomas C. Bogle, VA
Ms. Anita T. Channapati, NY
Mrs. Meredith W. Cook, NJ
Mr. Hans J. and Mrs. Denitta Germann, IL
Mr. Stephen M. Gill, TX, Fellow
Mr. Hal T. Greenebaum, MD
Mr. Allen J. Karger, TX
Mr. Jack W. Kennedy Jr., GA
Mr. Ryan M. and Mrs. Katie F. Pierce,
TX, Fellow
Mr. Myles F. Reynolds, TX
Mr. Jonathan H. Rose, CA
Mr. John G. Trinnaman, CA
T U L A N E YO U N G L AW Y E R S S O C I E T Y
The Tulane Young Lawyers Society is a group of young Tulane law alumni that work together
to make a difference in the future of Tulane Law School. This society gives young alumni a
voice that previously was not heard and provides an opportunity for young lawyers to take
part in the prestigious Law Fellows Program. It is also a way for young alumni to see an
immediate return on their investments to Tulane Law School. Our goal is to create value for
graduates of Tulane Law School, while promoting philanthropy back to Tulane Law School.
Alumni who give at any level within a year of graduation receive a complimentary membership with full benefits. Alumni out of school for less than five years obtain membership
with gifts in excess of $100.
CLASS OF 2002
CLASS OF 2005
Mr. Royce E. Bancroft, VA
Mr. Jason S. Grauch, NJ
Mr. Aaron S. and Mrs. Wendy F. Halpern, NY
Ms. Sherri L. Hutton, LA
Ms. Jessica L. Lively, NY, Fellow
Mrs. Punam P. Prahalad, OR
Mr. R. Alexander and Mrs. Winifred
Harrington Robinson, VA
Ms. Mariestella B. Templo, NJ
Mrs. Tara Conklin Weiss, LA, Fellow
Mr. Michael S. Bartolone, NY, Tulane Young
Lawyer Society
Mr. Patrick J. Bright, NY, Tulane Young
Lawyer Society
Mrs. Sarah Sheldon Brooks, CA, Tulane
Young Lawyer Society
Mr. Brian T. Carney, NJ, Tulane Young
Lawyer Society
Ms. Vanetta L. Christ, TX
Mr. Charles P. and Mrs. Caroline
Couvillon Clapp, MA
Mr. Neil A. Dubnoff, NY, Tulane Young
Lawyer Society
Mrs. Catharine A. Giannasi, TN
Mr. and Mrs. Daniel W. Gillette, CA
Mr. Ryan E. Hamilton, MN
Mr. Karl A. Herchold, NY, Fellow
Mr. E. Marcus Marsh III, NY, Tulane Young
Lawyer Society
Mr. and Mrs. Sean M. O’Boyle, LA, Tulane
Young Lawyer Society
Mr. Rory B. O’Halloran, NY, Tulane Young
Lawyer Society
Mr. Bret T. Pruehs, SC, Tulane Young
Lawyer Society
Ms. Erin M. Sine, TX
Mr. Scott R. Usiak, NY
Mr. Alexander D. White, TX, Tulane Young
Lawyer Society
CLASS OF 2003
Mr. Daniel Angel, NY, Fellow
Mr. Roberto Facundus, DC, Fellow
Ms. Susanne Burstein and Mr. Louis
B. Gerber, NY
Mr. Todd W. Gee, DC
Mr. Robert J. Jud, TX
Mr. Eric A. Long, CA
Mr. Ronald L. Oran Jr., TX
Mr. Michael and Mrs. Kassandra Savicki,
NY, Senior Fellow
Mrs. Mohana Priya Terry, NY
Ms. Nicole M. Tortarolo, NY, Fellow
Ms. Lea Ashley Shannon Wright, DC
CLASS OF 2004
Ms. Gina Vizzari Atwood, MA
Mr. Alex and Mrs. Tara M. Bahn,
DC, Senior Fellow
Mr. Matthew W. Blackwelder, DC
Ms. Hannah M. Buch, NJ
Ms. Paula M. Cino, DC
Mr. Benjamin A. Guider III, LA
Ms. Jessica S. Hoppe, NY, Senior Fellow
Mr. Don Y. Kim, CA
Mr. Se-Il Ko, South Korea
Mrs. Emily M. Morrison, LA
Ms. Beth G. Oliva, NJ
Mr. David G. Stafford II, NY, Fellow
Ms. Nikki Adame Winningham, TX
61
CLASS OF 2006
CLASS OF 2009
C O R P O R AT I O N S A N D F I R M S
Mr. and Mrs. Neal A. Bakare, TX, Fellow
Mr. Ryan Hamilton Blackledge, NC
Mr. Jean R. Broussard, DC
Mr. Jay T. Cohen, VA
Ms. Han Deng, NY, Tulane Young
Lawyer Society
Mr. Corey E. Devine, TX, Tulane Young
Lawyer Society
Mr. and Mrs. Jeremy T. Grabill, NY
Ms. Jennifer M. Hoffman, IL
Mr. Timothy A. Holliday, LA, Tulane Young
Lawyer Society
Ms. Danielle E. Hunter, TX, Tulane Young
Lawyer Society
Ms. Katherine L. Iannuzzi, GA
Mrs. Stephanie Kinzel-Tapper, TX
Mr. Cliff A. Lacour, LA
Mr. Charles S. Lowther, TX, Tulane Young
Lawyer Society
Mr. Marc H. Mandel, NY
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen L. Miles, LA, Tulane
Young Lawyer Society
Mr. Mark M. Newberg, VA
Mr. Matthew C. Reeber, RI
Mr. Jefferson K. B. and Mrs. Mary Ellen
Stancill, AL, Tulane Young Lawyer Society
Ms. Elizabeth R. Carter and Mr. Adam
J. Swensek, LA, Fellow
Mr. Ilan Wisnia, CA
Ms. Demelza A. Baer-Bositis, MD
Ms. Taryn C. Brown, NY
Ms. Carolyn K. Depoian, NY
Mr. Galen M. Hair, LA
Ms. Elizabeth Howard, TX
Mr. David L. Levy, TN
Mr. Jeffery S. McMullen, CA, Tulane
Young Lawyers Society
Ms. Deena Mikhail, NJ
Ms. Katherine B. Rhodes, NY
Ms. Lindsay A. Sakal, NY
Ms. Laura Singletary, LA
CLASS OF 2007
Ms. Rachel G. Ajasa, Ghana, Tulane Young
Lawyer Society
Ms. Elizabeth M. Bolles, MA, Tulane Young
Lawyer Society
Ms. Hamsa Devineni, India, Tulane Young
Lawyer Society
Ms. Vanessa Greenbaum, LA, Tulane Young
Lawyer Society
Mr. Raymond M. Hindieh, NY, Tulane Young
Lawyer Society
Ms. Ayanna Kellar, NJ, Tulane Young
Lawyer Society
Mr. William B. London, LA, Tulane Young
Lawyer Society
Mr. John H. Norris, AL, Tulane Young
Lawyer Society
Mr. Patrick M. Teague, CT, Tulane Young
Lawyer Society
Mr. Roger W. Yamada, MA, Tulane Young
Lawyer Society
Alex Berger Foundation
Allan C. Breslin, LLC
American Corporate Counsel Association
Analog Devices, Inc.
Anesthesia Consultants of Berkshires
Ashland Oil Foundation, Inc.
Association of Administrative Law Judges
ATandT Foundation
The Ayco Charitable Foundation
Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell
and Berkowitz
Baptist Community Ministries
BAR/BRI
Baton Rouge Area Foundation
Betty and Ira Kohn Foundation
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Law Offices of Carter B. Wright
Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
Chevron Humankind Program
Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen and Hamilton
Community Foundation of Acadiana
The Community Foundation of Shreveport
The Community Foundation of South Alabama
Covington and Burling
David and Cindy Pogrund Charities, LTD
Deer Creek Foundation
Deloitte Foundation
Eason-Weinmann Foundation
Eaton Charitable Fund
Elizabeth M. Gitt Foundation
Law Offices of Elon A. Pollack
Endurance Reinsurance Corporation of America
Entergy Charitable Foundation
ExxonMobil Foundation
Federal National Mortgage Association
Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund
The Fluor Foundation
Frederic W. Cook and Company, Inc.
Freeport-McMoRan Foundation
Friedman Foundation
Friendly Finance Discount Corp.
Frilot LLC
Gaudin and Gaudin
GE Foundation
Ghana Development Corporation, LLC
Glenn R. Abel
Gordon, Arata, McCollam, Duplantis
and Eagan, LLP
The Greater New Orleans Foundation
Haberman Foundation
Mr. Quinby H. Breland IV, LA, Fellow
Mr. Joseph H. Escandon, LA, Tulane Young
Lawyer Society
Mr. Martin H. Genet, FL
Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan B. Goldberg,
VA, Tulane Young Lawyer Society
Mr. and Mrs. Allan M. Johnson, TX, Tulane
Young Lawyer Society
Mr. Stephen M. Jacobson, TX, Tulane Young
Lawyer Society
Mr. Norman M. Levedahl, CA
Mr. Gregori D. Mavronicolas, NY
Mrs. Ragan Stout Memmott, IL
Mr. Thomas P. O’Connor, CT, Tulane Young
Lawyer Society
Ms. Ariana K. Wolynec-Werner, MD
CLASS OF 2008
Mr. Peter D. Bordonaro, MA, Tulane Young
Lawyer Society
Mr. Cade R. Cole, LA, Tulane Young
Lawyer Society
Mr. James O. Creech, CA
Ms. K. Blythe Daly, NY
Mr. Aaron B. Greenbaum, LA
Mrs. Julia Lake Jacobson, TX, Tulane Young
Lawyer Society
Mr. Guy Manchuk, Singapore
Mr. Brian J. and Mrs. Randi S. Rosenblatt,
NY, Tulane Young Lawyer Society
Mr. Claiborne B. Smith, GA
Ms. Noelle A. Trifiro, TX
62
CLASS OF 2010
Mr. Christopher B. Bennett, TX, Tulane
Young Lawyer Society
Mr. Jeffrey P. Good, LA, Tulane Young
Lawyer Society
Mr. Stephen W. Grant Jr., LA, Tulane Young
Lawyer Society
Mr. Matthew P. Lambert, LA, Tulane Young
Lawyer Society
Mr. U. Gabriel Nwuli, TX, Tulane Young
Lawyer Society
Mr. Stephen C. Richman, TX, Tulane Young
Lawyer Society
Mr. Douglas A. Swift Jr., LA, Tulane Young
Lawyer Society
CLASS OF 2011
Hicksbaugh LTD. LLC
Hispanic Lawyers Association of LA, Inc.
Hunter Douglas
Jewish Endowment Foundation
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur
Foundation
The J. P. Morgan Chase Foundation
Kendall Vick Public Law Foundation
Kirkland and Ellis Foundation
Law Offices of Gordon P. Serou Jr. L.L.C.
The Law Offices of Matt Greenbaum
Liskow and Lewis
Louisiana Bar Foundation
Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation, Inc.
McGlinchey Stafford, PLLC
McGuire Woods LLP
The McKnight Foundation
Marine Insurance Seminars, Inc.
Marcia and Mark Miller Family Foundation
Law Office of Martin Genet, PA
Mintz-Easthope Foundation
Munch and Munch P.A.
Murray Law Firm
The Law Office of Nass, Tiemann and Nass
Phelps Dunbar, L.L.P.
PODS Enterprises
Ralph C. McCullough II, LLC
Rittenberg Family Foundation
Law Offices of Robert A. Nadler
Rockefeller Foundation
Roger C. Edwards, Ltd.
Salesforce.com Foundation
Schwab Charitable Fund
Self Foundation
Sessions, Fishman, Nathan and Israel, LLP
Shell Oil Company Foundation
The Sherry and Alan Leventhal
Family Foundation
Shlimbaum and Shlimbaum
The Stanley W. Ray Jr. Philanthropic
and Civic Trust
Stephen J. Dennis, A Professional
Legal Corporation
SUEZ Energy Resources NA, Inc.
Thompson and Knight Foundation
Truist
Tyler Graham Storms Attorney at Law, LLC
UBS Warburg LLC
United Way of Miami-Dade, Inc.
Verizon Foundation
Weill and Long, PLLC
The Whitehead Family Foundation
The William B. Wiener Jr. Foundation
Xcel Energy Foundation
The Xerox Foundation
Professor Adeno Addis
Professor Adam and Mrs. Cheryl L. Babich
Professor Paul L. and Mrs. Arlene D. Barron
Professor Jeanne Louise Carriere, Fellow
Professor Alan Childress
Professor Colin Crawford
Professor Martin J. Davies and
Mrs. Janet Labatut-Davies
FRIENDS
Dean Nicholas J. and Mrs. Amy J. Altiero
Mr. William J. and Mrs. Kristine Amon
Mrs. Sophia W. Bender, Senior Fellow
Dr. George L. Bernstein
Dr. Michael A. Bernstein
Mr. Thomas R. Blum
Mr. John M. Collins
Mr. Michael A. Cowan and Ms. Kathleen
H. Riedlinger
Mr. Robert K. Dawson
Mr. Rick D’Avino and Ms. Pamela J. Murphy
Ms. A.V. Dodd
Mr. Fritz L. and Mrs. Gayle Denegre Felchlin,
Henry Adams Bullard Fellow
Mrs. Rosemary G. Deutsch
Mrs. Regina Conrad Foret
Mr. Robert L. Felix
Ms. Lydia M. Guillot
Mr. Stan and Mrs. Elaine Hansen
Mrs. Marietta Herr
Dr. Arthur D. Hertzberg
Mr. Leslie D. Hirsch
Mr. Eric V. and Paulette M. Hoskinson
Ms. Amy Kessler
Dr. Viola D. King
Mrs. Merrilee W. Kullman
Mr. Gerard Kraaijeveld and Mr. Eric
A. Webber
Dr. Christopher M. Kramer
Mr. Daniel R. Kramer
Mr. Michael W. and Mrs. Sarah C. Lemelin
Mrs. Barbara Cohn Marcus
Mr. William H. Page and Dr. Judith W. Page
Mrs. Kay Kraft Raybin
Dean Paul R. Verkuil and Dr. Judith Rodin,
Dean’s Fellow
Mr. Paul S. and Mrs. Edith Levy Rosenblum Sr.
Mr. and Mrs. Edward S. Schlesinger
Mrs. Lee Sear, Henry Adams Bullard Fellow
Mr. Robert S. Stern
Mr. William Tetley, C.M., Q.C.
Jack E. Thielen, M.D.
Dr. Anne B. Ward
Mr. William B. Wiener Jr.
PA R E N T S
Mr. Thomas P. Ackerman
Mr. H. Mark Adams
Mr. Mohammed Anis
Mrs. Elizabeth G. Arden
Mr. Elston H. and Mrs. Jane C. Bergen
Mr. Allan H. Bissinger
Mr. Devallon and Mrs. Suzanne Bolles
Mr. Doss R. and Mrs. Sally A. Bourgeois,
Fellow
Mr. Patrick F. Donovan
Mr. Joseph H. and Mrs. Margaret
B. Epstein Jr., LA, Fellow
Mr. Jeffrey Gershel
Dr. Joel and Mrs. Doretta Goldberg
Ms. Barbara Gubbins
Mr. Kazimierz J. and Mrs. Evelyn
A. Herchold, Fellow
Mr. Alfred R. and Mrs. M. Theresa Hupp Jr.
Mrs. Ann Rothschild Israel
Mr. Sherman and Mrs. Catherine Katz
Mr. Thomas Kriksciun and Mrs. Pamela Kress
Mr. C. David and Mrs. Sandra S. Lassalle
Mr. Mark and Mrs. Marcia Miller,
in honor of Ms. Lauren M. Miller (L ’13)
Mr. Bennett Rechler, Dean’s Fellow
Mr. Ira and Mrs. Susan Schulman
Mr. Brian Stern
Ms. Judith J. Trotta
Mr. Michael A. and Mrs. Pam Woodard
S TA F F
Mrs. Lynn F. Becnel
Mrs. Ellen J. Brierre
Mrs. Sarka Cerna-Fagan
Mrs. Michele Saunders Certoma and
Mr. Randall J. Certoma
Ms. Nicole J. DePietro
Ms. Victoria D. Johnson
Mr. Byron L. Kantrow, NY Office
Ms. Emily L. Roberts
Ms. Meredith A. Schor
Ms. Colleen Timmons
Mrs. Shannon Lee Woodward
OT H E R
Committee to Re-elect Judge Thibodeaux
FA LL 20 11 T U L A N E L AWY E R
L AW FA C U LT Y
Professor Mark S. Davis
Professor Claire Moore Dickerson and
Mr. Thomas P. Dickerson
Professor Onnig Dombalagian
Professor Erin Donelon Alford
Professor James E. Duggan
Professor Adam Feibelman
Professor Robert and Mrs. Ruth Morris Force
Professor Joel W. Friedman
Professor James R. Gordley
Professor Stephen M. and
Mrs. Starlynn Griffin
Professor Catherine P. Hancock and
Mr. Peter L. Koerber
Professor Günther Handl
Professor Janet C. Hoeffel
Professor Oliver A. Houck
Professor David R. Katner (L ’80)
Dean Susan L. Krinsky
Professor Saru Matambanadzo
Professor Pamela R. Metzger
Dean David D. Meyer and Professor
Amy Gajda, Dean’s Fellow
Professor Herbert V. Larson Jr. and
Ms. Julianne Nice, Senior Fellow
Professor Shu-Yi Oei
Professor Vernon V. Palmer (L ’65)
Professor Cynthia E. Samuel (L ’72),
Dean’s Fellow
Professor Stacy E. Seicshnaydre (L ’92)
Dr. Edward F. Sherman
Professor Keith M. Werhan
Professor Robert Westley
63
A L M A M AT T E R S
T A X T O P I C S F O R T H E P H I L A N T H R O P I C:
A N A T T O R N E Y’S G U I D E
I T ’ S A G O O D T I M E T O B E N E F I T FA M I LY
AND CHARITY WITH A LEAD TRUST
by Lizbeth A. Turner (L ’85)
haritable lead trusts have long
been an ideal way for philanthropic individuals to pass on
assets to family members at a lower
transfer tax cost. These trusts became
even more attractive in 2011, thanks to
low interest rates and the new $5 million
gift and estate tax exemption.
In 2011, a donor can give $5 million
during life or at death free of gift and
estate tax. The gift tax exemption was
only $1 million last year, so individuals
who previously used their gift tax exemption now have additional opportunities for tax-free transfers. A charitable
lead trust can leverage this exemption
by decreasing the value of the family’s
interest in the trust and using up less
of the exemption.
A lead trust pays either fixed or
variable income to a charity, usually for
a term of 10, 15, or 20 years. When the
trust ends, the principal goes to beneficiaries named by the donor—typically
children or grandchildren. This nongrantor lead trust, which does not revert
to the donor, can achieve significant gift
and estate tax savings.
The gift of an income interest in a
lead trust to charity is eligible for a charitable gift tax deduction. The gift of the
trust’s principal to family members is
subject to gift tax unless it is sheltered
by the exemption amount. Well-planned
lead trusts eliminate transfer taxes by
structuring the trust to make the present
value of the family’s interest less than the
donor’s available exemption and use up
as little of the exemption as possible.
A larger charitable deduction results
T U L A N E L AW YE R FALL 20 11
C
64
in a lower value of the family’s interest.
The longer the trust’s term and the more
income it pays to charity, the larger the
gift tax charitable deduction will be.
The deduction is even larger when the
IRS interest rate used to calculate the
deduction assumes that the trust assets
will grow slowly. This rate dropped to
an all-time low of 1.4% in October 2011,
and rates have ranged from 2.0% to
3.0% in 2011.
The IRS interest rate significantly
affects the deduction for the charitable
lead annuity trust (“CLAT”), which
makes fixed payments. The charitable
lead unitrust, which makes variable
payments based on the value of the trust,
is less sensitive to the interest rate. The
table below compares the deduction for
a CLAT assuming varying IRS rates.
Lead trusts usually are invested for
growth. Any increase in the trust’s value
will pass to heirs free of estate and gift
tax when the trust ends.
$1 Million CLAT Paying $60,000/Year to Charity for 20 Years
Month
IRS Discount Rate
Gift and Estate Tax Deduction
November 2011
1.4%
$1,000,000
September 2011
2.0%
$988,440
May 2011
3.0%
$902,650
Note: the nongrantor lead trust usually does not result in an income tax deduction.
The deduction estimates above are based on quarterly installments.
Tulane’s Office of Planned Gifts is ready to help you and your clients
with philanthropic planning. For more information about lead trusts and
other planned gifts, call (800) 999-0181 or contact lturner@tulane.edu.
To run your own illustrations, use the Gift Planning Calculations link at
www.plannedgiving.tulane.edu.
S AV E T H E D AT E S
DAT E
TIME
FA L L 2 0 1 1 – S P R I N G 2 0 1 2
EVENT
L O C AT I O N & D E TA I L S
N OV E M B E R
Nov. 18
8 am–4:15 pm
20th Annual Estate Planning Seminar (CLE)
The Westin New Orleans Canal Place Hotel
DECEMBER
Dec. 28–29
Daily
21st Annual “CLE by the hour”
Tulane Law School, 6329 Freret Street (TLS),
John Giffen Weinmann Hall (WH)
J A N UA R Y
Jan. 5
7–9 pm
DC Alumni Event in conjunction with AALS Annual Meeting
TBD
F E B R UA R Y
Stay tuned for more information:
New Orleans Young Alumni Happy Hour
“Meet Dean Meyer” Tampa/St. Petersburg/Orlando receptions
TBA
Feb. 1–7
ABA Mid-Year Meeting
New Orleans, La.
Feb. 8
5 pm
(Reception
to follow)
Ashton Phelps Lecture on First Amendment Law
Rebecca Brown, Newton Prof. of Constitutional Law
Univ. of Southern California Gould School of Law
TLS/WH/Room 110
Feb. 15–17
Daily
17th Annual Mardi Gras Sports Law Competition
TLS/U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
MARCH
Stay tuned for more information:
“Meet Dean Meyer” Miami/South Florida/Chicago receptions
TBA
Mar. 2–3
Daily
17th Annual Tulane Environmental Summit
TBD
Mar. 5
TBD
Dermot S. McGlinchey Lecture on Federal Litigation
Hon. Diane Wood, U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeal
TLS/WH/Room 110
Mar. 8–9
Daily
24th Tulane Corporate Law Institute (CLE)
The Roosevelt New Orleans hotel
Reunions for the law classes of 1997, 2002, & 2007 (tentative)
TBD by individual class
Mar. 16–17
APRIL
Apr. TBD
11:30 am–1:30 pm New Orleans Alumni Luncheon
TBD
Apr. 2
TBD
U.S. Supreme Court Swearing-in Ceremony
U.S. Supreme Court Building, Washington, DC
For more information, please contact Ellen Brierre: (504) 865-5920 or ebrierre@tulane.edu
Apr. 19
TBD
Law Review Banquet
The Westin New Orleans Canal Place hotel
M AY
May 18
6–8 pm
Wave Goodbye Commencement Party
Academic Quad/Tulane Uptown Campus
May 18–19
TBD
Law Class of 1962 Reunion
TBD
May 19
9 am
Tulane Unified Commencement Ceremony
Mercedes-Benz Superdome
May 19
3 pm
Tulane Law School Diploma Ceremony
Fogelman Arena
QUESTIONS?
• Continuing Legal Education (CLE) events: (504) 865-5900 or visit www.law.tulane.edu/cle
• Reunions, “Meet the Dean” receptions, and lectures: (504) 865-5920 or e-mail ebrierre@tulane.edu
• Judging a Tulane Moot Court Competition is a great way for alumni and friends of the legal community to get involved
at the law school. To learn more, please contact Chief Justice Arly Smith-Pearson via e-mail at asmithpearson@gmail.com.
• Visit Tulane.edu/grads for the latest information regarding Commencement 2012.
ALL EVENTS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
NON-PROFIT
O R G A N I Z AT I O N
U. S . P O S T A G E PA I D
N E W O R L E A N S, L A
P E R M I T N O. 2 6 9 7
T U L A N E U N I V E R S I T Y L AW S C H O O L
JOHN GIFFEN WEINMANN HALL
6329 FRERET STREET
NEW ORLEANS, LA 70118
A D D R E S S S E RV I C E R E Q U E S T E D
“Tulane is a law school
deeply grounded in its own
community—indelibly and
passionately connected to
New Orleans, to the prac-
A D D R E S S U P D AT E / C L A S S N O T E
Send class notes to Ellen Brierre, manager, law school alumni relations.
Mail: Tulane Law School, Alumni Affairs, 6329 Freret St., New Orleans, LA 70118
E-mail: ebrierre@tulane.edu
Fax: (504) 862-8578
Web: http://tulane.edu/alumni/tellusyournews.cfm
To update your information, visit http://tulane.edu/alumni/updateyourinfo.cfm
tice of law, and to the ideal
of making a difference in
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the lives of its neighbors.”
Home Address___________________________________________________________
—Dean David Meyer
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